New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that households saved 12.09% of their income in the last quarter of 2023 – and 12.4% in 2023 as a whole.
The CSO noted that the saving rate has averaged over 12% in the last two years, above the long-term pre-Covid average.
The saving rate has declined from a peak of 32.45% in the second quarter of 2020 – during the Covid pandemic – to 10.56% at the end of 2022. It rose again in the first quarter of 2023 before settling back down.
The CSO said that 2023’s saving rate of 12.4% is little changed from the rate of 12.23% in 2022, while it is higher than 2019’s level of 10.12%, and higher any year before that, back to 2010 (13.46%), during the credit crisis.
Today’s figures show that households saved €19 billion in 2023. About half of this went into fixed assets such as homes, with the other half going into deposits and other financial assets.
The CSO noted that the expanding numbers of people working are driving up household income as well as higher income on assets such as pension funds.
Meanwhile consumption is also going up, due to higher volumes as well as higher prices, it added.
Article Source – Households saved €19 billion in 2023 – CSO – RTE
