PARIS - Real household income per capita fell by 0.5% in the OECD in the second quarter of 2022, contrasting with growth of 0.3% in real GDP per capita (Figure 1). This is the third quarter in a row that real household income per capita has declined in the OECD, as rising consumer prices continue to undermine growth in household income when measured in real terms.

Real household income per capita fell in most OECD countries for which data is available in Q2 2022, and in all G7 economies[1] except Germany. Real household income per capita fell by 1.2% in France, by 1.1% in Canada and the United Kingdom, and by 0.4% in the United States. Q2 2022 was the fourth consecutive quarter of falling real income for households in the United Kingdom and the fifth consecutive quarter for households in the United States. The declines over this longer period reflect both the reduction in pandemic-related government assistance and rising consumer prices faced by households.

When compared with Q4 2019, before the start of the pandemic, growth in real GDP per capita for the OECD (2.3%) is now slightly ahead of growth in real household income per capita (2.0%). The growth profiles of the two indicators over time are very different (Figure 2), with real GDP per capita climbing since its trough in Q2 2020 while real household income per capita has trended downwards since Q1 2021. The decline in real household income per capita during this period has been driven by falls in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.