Household saving rate increased to 14.7% in first quarter

The early estimate of the household saving rate among Irish households in the first quarter of 2024 shows it increased to 14.7 per cent in the first three months of the year, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO). This equates to €8.1 billion before adjusting for seasonality or inflation, it said.

Income and consumption both rose in the first quarter of 2024, but households’ incomes rose more than their consumption, leading to a rise in savings. Unadjusted the total disposable income of households stood at €42 billion, which is up from a figure of €38 billion in the first quarter of 2023.

Household consumption arrived at €34 billion in the first quarter, up from €32 billion in the equivalent period last year.

The estimates are subject to revision as new data and additional detail on the household economic sector from the annual national accounts becomes available in the next few weeks, the CSO said.

“The first quarter of the year tends to have high saving as consumption is lower after Christmas and bonuses are often paid in this quarter,” said Peter Culhane, statistician in the CSO’s national accounts analysis and globalisation division.

The household saving rate of 14.7 per cent climbed from 13.1 per cent in the final quarter of 2023. The rate has been stable or increasing since the end of 2022.

Household saving is added to wealth either as real assets, such as new homes, or financial assets, such as deposits, or as paying off liabilities, such as mortgage debt.

Investment in dwellings and improvements, most of which is by households, was €2.7 billion in the quarter. Additions to pension funds arrived at €1.1 billion, while figures from the Central Bank show households’ deposits in banks in the State rose by €1.9 billion.