Loading the context…
Loading the context…
A US accounts measure combining personal consumption with personal interest and certain transfer payments.
Consumption covers goods and services. The additional categories record specified interest and current transfers under the national-accounting framework. Personal saving is disposable personal income minus personal outlays. This accounting relationship explains why subtracting only consumer spending can give a different answer from the officially reported saving figure. Exact classifications follow the statistical methodology, rather than an ordinary household budgeting shorthand.
In a hypothetical aggregate, disposable personal income is 1,000 billion, consumption is 900 billion, personal interest payments are 20 billion and current transfer payments are 10 billion. Personal outlays are 930 billion, leaving personal saving of 70 billion. Subtracting consumption alone would give 100 billion and would omit the other 30 billion of outlays.
U.S. July spending edged up, with little gain after inflation