The household savings rate surged to 12.2%, marking an increase of 1.1 percentage points from the previous quarter, as reported in the quarterly national accounts by institutional sector for the fourth quarter of 2024, released today by the National Statistics Institute.
This rate is the highest since 2021 when the first quarter saw a historic peak of 14.2% of disposable income.
The statistical authority attributes this performance to a 3.1% rise in gross disposable income, compared to a 2.2% increase in the previous quarter, outpacing the 1.9% growth in private consumption.
The household savings rate is determined by the proportion of disposable income not used for final consumption. It is calculated as the ratio of gross savings to disposable income, including adjustments for the net participation of households in pension funds.
According to the INE, in the year ending in the fourth quarter of 2024, compensations and the gross operating surplus contributed 1.5 and 0.6 percentage points, respectively, to this rate variation. The statistical authority also noted the positive impact of taxes on the growth of household disposable income (0.6 percentage points), “reflecting the reduction in personal income tax paid due to the implementation of new withholding tax tables.”
The nominal per capita disposable income of households reached 18,700 euros in the fourth quarter of 2024, representing a 2.9% increase from the previous quarter. Additionally, per capita compensations amounted to 13,000 euros, up 1.9% from the previous quarter.
