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Personal Income Slipped In August, Consumer Spending Basically Flat

There was a 0.1 percent dip in personal income in August vs. July, the Bureau of Economic Analysis just reported. The Associated Press says that's the "poorest showing since a similar 0.1 percent drop in October 2009."

In addition, "disposable personal income" actually fell 0.3 percent after inflation.

Meanwhile, consumer spending edged up 0.2 percent — but was unchanged when inflation is factored in. Since consumers purchase about 70 percent of all goods and services, weakness in their demand ripples through the economy.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.