Household real income per capita slightly increases in both the euro area and the EU

In the second quarter of 2026, household real income per capita increased by 0.1% in the euro area, after an increase of 0.1% in the first quarter of 2026. In the same period, household real consumption per capita increased by 0.3%, after having stayed stable in the previous quarter.

These data come from a detailed set of seasonally adjusted quarterly European sector accounts that is published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

In the EU as a whole, household real income per capita increased by 0.1% in the second quarter of 2026, after having increased by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2026. At the same time, household real consumption per capita increased by 0.4%, after a decrease of 0.1% in the previous quarter.

During the second quarter of 2026, the slight increase in household real income per capita in the euro area is mainly explained by the positive contribution of net property income and other net current transfers while in the EU by the compensation of employees and social benefits other than social transfers in kind. Conversely, the largest negative contributor in the euro area was gross operating surplus and gross mixed income while in the EU it was current taxes and net social contributions.

Household saving rate decreased both in the euro area and the EU

In the second quarter of 2026, the saving rate decreased by 0.2 percentage points (pp) in the euro area and by 0.3 pp in the EU, compared with the previous quarter.

Among the Member States for which data are published, the household saving rate increased in four Member States and decreased in eleven. The largest increase was in Poland and Czechia (+0.6 pp in both). At the same time, the largest decrease was observed in Finland (-1.6 pp), Hungary (-1.4 pp) and Italy (-1.2 pp).

Household investment rate stays stable in the euro area and slightly decreases in the EU