Personal Income, Spending Rise in November

Washington, DC, Dec. 23, 2009--The Commerce Department said Wednesday that personal income increased 0.4% compared with October, while spending increased by 0.5%.

October data were revised. Income that month rose 0.3% instead of increasing 0.2% as first estimated. Spending climbed 0.6% as opposed to rising 0.7%.

The 0.4% rise in November income was the biggest since May's 1.5% surge. However, economists had forecast income rose 0.5% in November. They projected a 0.6% gain in spending.

The report Wednesday on income and spending said personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income was 4.7% a second straight time in November.

As for price gauges in the report, the price index for personal consumption expenditures excluding food and energy, year over year, rose 1.4%. It also rose 1.4% during October.