The OECD warns that price increases will affect family economies, with per capita income falling from 1.2% in the G7 countries, but 4.1% in Spain
The high inflation affecting all countries as a result of the war in Ukraine is of great concern to the OECD, which, in its latest household income report, warns that real per capita income has fallen in the first quarter, meaning that a lower purchasing power of households and the slowdown of the economy.
According to their calculations, real household income per capita decreased by 1.1% in the OECD area from January to March, coinciding with the start of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. On the contrary, GDP per capita grew by 0.2% over the same period, continuing the trend of the three previous quarters in which GDP exceeded per capita household income, contrary to what was observed at the start of the pandemic.
The gap has widened during the year of incarceration that real household income is today 2.9% higher than in January 2020, despite the decline it has been experiencing in recent months, while GDP is only 1.6% higher.
What has been happening for several months now is that the rise in consumer prices is “undermining” household incomes, the OECD writes. In the average of the G7 countries, per capita income fell by 1.2%. Of these economies, the impact of inflation on households in the first quarter was particularly high in France, where per capita income fell by 1.9%, and in Germany, where it fell by 1.7%.
But these figures do not compare with those of Spain, where high inflation has contributed to a large drop in per capita income, at 4.1%, four times more than the OECD and G7 averages. The only European country to exceed Spain is Austria, with a 5.5% decline.
Has nothing to do with what is happening in Canada where the highest growth in household income was recorded in the first quarter of the year (+1.5%). This is due to the increase in salaries, nominally 3.8% in that period.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
