Eurozone: Household income and business investment rate fell

On 29 January, Eurostat announced that household real income per capita fell by 0.3 per cent in Eurozone while the business investment rate was down to 19.9 per cent.

Household real income fell by 0.3 per cent during the third quarter of 2012, after a decrease of 0.5 per cent at last year’s second quarter. Moreover, Eurostat’s figure suggests that the real growth of actual final consumption per capita in Eurozone fell by -0.4 per cent during the third quarter of 2012. During the two previous quarters, actual consumption per capita declined by 0.4 per cent in the second quarter and 0.3 per cent at the first. Household saving rate remained almost stable in Eurozone being at 13 per cent at the end of the third quarter (during the second quarter of 2012, it was 12.9 per cent). Last but not least the household investment rate remained at low levels, being at 8.9 per cent.

Regarding the business investment rate in Eurozone, it decreased further from 20.2 per cent during the second quarter of 2012 to 19.9 at the end of the third. In detail, investment decreased by 0.7 per cent while gross value added increased by 0.4 per cent. Moreover, total stocks (materials, supplies and finished goods) fell for the fourth quarter in a row. However, the business profit share remained almost stable, as wage costs increased at nearly the same rate as value added. Profit share of non-financial corporations in Eurozone, was at 38 per cent in the third quarter of 12’, compared with 38.1 per cent during the previous quarter.