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Real household income recovers in the last quarter of 2023

7 May 2024 – Real household income per capita in the OECD rose by 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2023, following a 0.2% fall in the third quarter. Growth in real income per capita exceeded growth in real GDP per capita of 0.2% (Figure 1).

Real household income per capita increased in most OECD countries in Q4 2023. Of the 19 countries for which data is available, 11 registered an increase, 6 saw a decrease, and 2 were flat. Among G7 economies, real household income per capita rose in the United Kingdom, France, and the United States. The United Kingdom saw an increase in real household income per capita of 0.5% in Q4 2023 despite GDP per capita declining for the fourth consecutive quarter. This real income growth was driven mainly by increased social benefits other than transfers in kind. France and the United States both saw growth in real household income per capita in Q4 (0.7% and 0.4% respectively) after a decline in the previous quarter. On the other hand, Canada experienced a fall in both real household income per capita (-0.7%) and real GDP per capita (-0.8%) in Q4 2023, partly reflecting continued strong population growth (Figure 2). Italy saw a smaller decline in real household income per capita (-0.4%), while in Germany real household income per capita was flat, although real GDP per capita fell by 0.6%.

In 2023 as a whole, real household income per capita grew by 1.2% across the OECD, rebounding from the record fall in 2022 when Covid-19 assistance programmes were ending (Figure 3), while GDP per capita increased by 1.1% (Table 2). The annual rise in real household income per capita came as inflation slowed compared with the .

• Links to underlying data:

> for quarterly growth rates of real household income per capita and real GDP for all OECD countries (when available) and geographic groupings.

> for the full set of non-financial quarterly sector accounts