WASHINGTON – Consumers made less, spent less and saved more last month.
Personal income and disposable personal income each fell .2% last month and spending fell 1%, the Commerce Department reported today.
But consumers, fearful of losing their jobs or other financial hardships, saved more. Personal saving as a percentage of disposable income was 3.6% in December, compared with 2.8% in November.
Recommended For You
The decline in personal income compares with a .4% drop in November. The drop in disposable personal income compares with a .2% drop that month and the drop in consumer spending compares with .8% decline.
Today's data is further evidence of the severity of the recession. On Friday, the government reported that the Gross Domestic Product fell 3.8% in the fourth quarter of 2008, the most since 1982. The GDP fell .5% in the third quarter of last year.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
