The household saving rate in the euro area was at 15.3% in the third quarter of 2024 (compared with 15.6% in the second quarter of 2024), which is explained by consumption increasing by 1.1%, at a faster rate than gross disposable income (+0.7%).
These data come from a first release of seasonally adjusted quarterly European sector accounts from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
At the same time, the household investment rate in the euro area decreased from 9.2% to 9.1% in the third quarter of 2024, as gross fixed capital formation decreased by 0.2%, while gross disposable income increased by 0.7%.
In the third quarter of 2024, the profit share of businesses (non-financial corporations) slightly increased from 38.7% to 38.8% in the euro area, which is explained by the increase of business compensation of employees (wages and social contributions) plus taxes less subsidies on production by 1.2%, at a slightly lower rate than gross value added (+1.4%).
The business investment rate in the euro area increased from 21.4% to 21.9% in the third quarter of 2024, as business gross fixed capital formation increased by 3.7%, at a faster rate than gross value added (+1.4%). The peaks in 2017Q2, 2019Q2, 2019Q4 and 2020Q1 are related to large imports of intellectual property products reflecting globalisation effects.
Notes for users
Revisions and timetable
Compared with data released on 29 October 2024, the household saving rate for the second quarter of 2024 remained unrevised at 15.6%. The household investment rate also remained unrevised at 9.2%. The profit share of non-financial corporations for the second quarter of 2024 remained unrevised at 38.7%. The investment rate of non-financial corporations was revised upwards from 21.3% to 21.4%.
Around 94 days after the end of the quarter, Eurostat publishes the first news release and a subset of quarterly key indicators in its website. Around 120 days after the end of the quarter, Eurostat publishes the final release and detailed annual and quarterly sector accounts of Member States of the European Economic Area and derived key indicators, including annual indicators such as debt-to-income ratios. The final news release for the third quarter of 2024, focusing on data for household real income and consumption per capita for both the euro area and the EU, will be published on 28 January 2025.
Methods and definitions
The gross saving rate of households (household saving rate) is defined as gross saving divided by gross disposable income, with the latter including the change in the net equity of households in pension funds reserves. Gross saving is the part of the gross disposable income which is not spent as final consumption expenditure. Therefore, the saving rate increases when gross disposable income grows at a higher rate than final consumption expenditure.
The gross investment rate of households (household investment rate) is defined as gross fixed capital formation divided by gross disposable income, with the latter being adjusted for the change in the net equity of households in pension funds reserves. Household investment mainly consists of the purchase and renovation of dwellings.
The gross investment rate of non-financial corporations is defined as gross fixed capital formation divided by gross value added. This ratio relates the investment of non-financial businesses in fixed assets (buildings, machinery etc.) to the value added created during the production process.
The profit share of non-financial corporations is defined as gross operating surplus divided by gross value added. This profitability-type indicator shows the share of the value added created during the production process remunerating capital. It is the complement of the share of wage costs (plus other taxes less other subsidies on production) in value added.
The compilation of the European sector accounts follows the European System of Accounts 2010 (ESA2010) and covers the period from the first quarter of 1999 onwards. The data comes from a first release of seasonally adjusted quarterly European sector accounts released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union and the European Central Bank (ECB).
Institutional sectors bring together economic units with broadly similar characteristics and behaviour, namely: households (including non-profit institutions serving households), non-financial corporations, financial corporations, government and the rest of the world. In the latter, to measure the external transactions of the euro area / European Union (EU), it is necessary to remove cross-border flows within the area concerned.
Geographical information
The euro area (EA20) consists of 20 Member States: Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland, plus the European Central Bank, the European Stability Mechanism and the European Financial Stability Facility.
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