(29 October 2020) – In the 2nd quarter of 2020, when Member States continued to implement the COVID-19 containment measures, household real consumption per capita dropped by 10.7% in the euro area, after a decrease of 3.3% in the previous quarter.
This decline is the highest since the beginning of the time series in 1999. Household real income per capita decreased in the second quarter of 2020 by 3.2%, after an increase of 0.5% in the first quarter.
The drop in the individual consumption expenditure of households was the most pronounced in Ireland (-21.7%) and Spain (-20.3%). At the same time, the gross disposable income decreased in all Member States except in Denmark and Ireland.
Eight Member States recorded a decrease of the household investment rate, with the highest declines in Ireland (-3.1 pp), France (-1.3 pp) and Italy (-1.1 pp). On the contrary, the investment rate of households increased in Finland, Sweden and Portugal, and remained stable in Denmark.