Income growth slowed in Q2: OECD

Household income growth slowed sharply in the second quarter across the 38 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

In a new report, the Paris-based group said real household income per capita grew by 0.4% in the second quarter, down from 1.3% in the previous quarter.

The slowdown came amid mixed experiences across the OECD, with eight countries seeing growth in household incomes, while seven countries suffered a drop.

“Among G7 economies, real household income per capita grew in most countries but contracted in Canada and Germany,” the OECD said.

Canada suffered a 0.2% decline in per capita income alongside the fifth straight drop in quarterly GDP per capita, it noted.

The strongest income gains came in the U.K. and Italy, which recorded increases of 1.1% and 1.0%, respectively.

And in the U.S., income growth slowed from 1.2% in the first quarter to 0.4% in Q2, “mainly due to reduced growth in renumeration of employees and government social benefit payments,” the OECD reported.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.