Americans’ personal income rebounded in January, yet their spending also rebounded from December, exceeding the expectations of analysts, who predicted spending would be close to flat.
The federal government said personal income increased $43.9 billion, or 0.3 percent. Meanwhile, personal consumption expenditures rose $48.1 billion, or 0.4 percent. Both statistics marked a big change from December, when personal income fell less than 0.1 percent, or $5.5 billion. But Americans nonetheless spent more, as expenditures jumped slightly, 0.1 percent, or $6.5 billion.
Before today’s announcement, analysts had expected a similar increase in personal income for January. But disposable personal income, the government’s measure of how much Americans have for spending and saving after paying income taxes, rose unexpectedly by 0.4 percent, or $45.2 billion. Analysts had expected personal spending to be close to flat, as it was in December, when it jumped only 0.1 percent, or $9.7 billion.
