Eurostat: Real per capita income rose by 0.1% in the EU in the second quarter of 2026, while the saving rate fell

Real adjusted household income per capita increased by 0.1% in both the EU and the euro area compared with the previous quarter. Real consumption per capita rose by 0.4% in the EU and by 0.3% in the euro area, while saving rates fell to 13.9% and 14.2%, respectively, according to Eurostat.

Real adjusted household income per capita increased by 0.1% in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the previous quarter, both in the European Union and in the euro area, according to data published by Eurostat on 28 October. Real consumption per capita grew faster, by 0.4% in the EU and by 0.3% in the euro area. In the same quarter, the saving rate fell in both economic areas, to 13.9% in the EU and 14.2% in the euro area.

In brief

Real adjusted household income per capita increased by 0.1% in the second quarter of 2026, both in the EU and in the euro area, compared with the previous quarter.

Real consumption per capita increased by 0.4% in the EU and by 0.3% in the euro area. The indicator also includes goods and services received in the form of social transfers in kind.

The saving rate fell by 0.3 percentage points in the EU, to 13.9%, and by 0.2 points in the euro area, to 14.2%. It is calculated from nominal aggregates, distinct from the real per-capita indicators.

Among the countries with published data, the largest declines in the saving rate were recorded in Finland, Hungary and Italy; Poland and Czechia recorded the largest increases. Romania is not included in the publication’s national table.

The household investment rate remained at 8.3% in the euro area and fell to 8.0% in the EU. The data are seasonally adjusted and may be revised; European averages do not describe the situation of every household.

Real income growth per capita slowed in the EU from 0.3% in the first quarter to 0.1% in the second, while in the euro area the rate remained at 0.1%. Real consumption per capita returned to growth in the EU, after falling by 0.1% in the first quarter, while in the euro area it increased after stagnating during the first three months of the year.

The income indicator used by Eurostat is adjusted gross disposable household income, reported per capita and adjusted for price developments. It also includes social transfers in kind, namely individual goods and services provided to households by general government or non-profit institutions, not only monetary income. The real consumption measured in the publication is actual final consumption, which adds these transfers to household consumption expenditure. Therefore, its change does not represent exclusively the change in purchases paid for directly by the population.

The saving rate uses a different calculation: gross saving is reported as a share of gross disposable income, adjusted for the change in pension entitlements. For these nominal aggregates, income increased by 1.1% in both areas, while consumption expenditure increased by 1.4% in the EU and by 1.3% in the euro area. This difference explains the reduction in the share saved, from 14.2% to 13.9% in the EU and from 14.4% to 14.2% in the euro area. The decline in the rate does not measure withdrawals from bank deposits.

Among the countries with published data, the saving rate fell in 11 and increased in four. The largest reductions were recorded in Finland, by 1.6 percentage points, Hungary, by 1.4 points, and Italy, by 1.2 points. Poland and Czechia recorded the largest increases, of 0.6 percentage points each. Romania does not appear in the national table for this publication.

The household investment rate remained stable at 8.3% in the euro area and decreased by 0.1 percentage points in the EU, to 8.0%. The indicator reports gross fixed capital formation as a share of disposable income adjusted for the change in pension entitlements; household investment consists mainly of the purchase and renovation of dwellings.

The detailed publication of 28 October complements the first estimate of 2 October. For the second quarter, the euro area saving and investment rates remained unrevised, at 14.2% and 8.3%. However, the historical series were updated, including real income growth per capita in the first quarter, and the data may be revised subsequently as well.

All quarterly comparisons in the article use seasonally adjusted data. Per-capita values are aggregated averages, not median incomes or measures of distribution among households. European growth of 0.1% does not show what proportion of the population had higher incomes and cannot automatically be attributed to each Member State.

https://2eu.brussels/ro/news/venitul-real-al-gospodariilor-din-ue-creste-cu-numai-0-1-in-timp-ce-consumul-avanseaza-si-rata-economisirii-scade