The household saving rate fell in both the Eurozone and EU27 for the third quarter in a row in Q1 2010: In the first quarter of 2010, the seasonally adjusted gross saving rate of households was 13.0% in the EU27, compared with 13.4% in the fourth quarter of 2009. In the Eurozone, the household saving rate was 14.6% in the first quarter of 2010, compared with 15.0% in the previous quarter. The US rate was 3.8% of disposable income in March.

In the first quarter of 2010, in both the Eurozone (EA16) and the EU27, the seasonally adjusted household saving rate and the household investment rate decreased. In the Eurozone, household disposable income fell by 0.6% in real terms. These data come from a detailed set of quarterly European sector accounts released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, and the European Central Bank (ECB).

Household real disposable income in the Eurozone fell for the third quarter in a row: In the Eurozone, the fall in the household saving rate was due to real disposable income6 decreasing faster (-0.6%) than real final consumption expenditure (-0.1%). Real disposable income dropped because nominal disposable income fell (-0.2%), while the prices of goods and services consumed by households increased (+0.4%)

The decrease (-0.2%) in household nominal disposable income was mainly due to small negative contributions from compensation of employees (wage costs), net property income & other current transfers and taxes (-0.1 percentage points each), while net social benefits had a small positive impact (+0.1 pp).

Household investment rate still decreasing in both zones: In the EU27, the gross investment rate of households7 was 7.7% in the first quarter of 2010, compared with 8.0% in the fourth quarter of 2009. In the Eurozone, the household investment rate was 8.7% in the first quarter of 2010, compared with 8.8% in the previous quarter.

In the Eurozone, the decrease in household investment rate was due to gross fixed capital formation (investment, mostly in dwellings) falling faster in nominal terms (-2.2%) than nominal disposable income (-0.2%).

The European Union (EU27) consists of 27 Member States: Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom plus the European Central Bank and the EU institutions.

The Eurozone (EA16) consists of 16 Member States: Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland plus the European Central Bank.