In June, the most recent month for which data are available, personal income in the U.S. increased by half a percentage point to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of nearly $10.3 trillion. Personal spending in June did even better in percentage terms, rising in June to a rate pf $8.7 trillion, eight-tenths of a point higher than in May, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Aug. 2.
Both gains, however, were better than expected. Economists generally expected personal income to rise three-tenths of a percentage point in June and personal consumption expenditures to grow four-tenths of a percent.
The monthly expenditure figure attracts a great deal of attention, since consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of the $12.2 trillion U.S. economy.
