Family income in the EU is still low (+0.1%), savings are decreasing

While inflation empties their wallets, European families have to deal with incomes that are growing very little. The first victim is clearly the propensity to save which in Italy, for example, drops by 1.2% compared to an overall drop of 0.2% in the Old Continent.

The bad news comes from Eurostat which analyzed the 'accounts' for the second quarter of this year. According to the European Statistical Institute, in fact, in the second quarter of 2026, the real per capita income of families increased by 0.1% in the euro area after a similar increase (+0.1%) in the first quarter of 2026. In the same period, the real per capita consumption of families increased by 0.3%, after remaining stable in the previous quarter.

A situation, the one determined by the high cost of living and low wages, which is pushing young Europeans into the streets and on which the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, also spoke yesterday: "Geo-economic and geo-political conflicts attack, with inflation and an inactive wage dynamic, the standard of living of citizens", he said at the savings day.

Meanwhile, energy continues to drive prices and according to the latest Eurostat data the annual inflation rate in the eurozone in September 2026 was 3.8%, up compared to 3.2% in August and 2.2% in the same month of 2025. For Italy the latest data is decidedly alarming: +5.4% is the provisional estimate for October with double-digit growth for energy (+31.4%) and the most purchased products in the shopping cart which recorded a +5.8%.

So while families are being squeezed by 'hidden taxes' and prices are flying, overall across the EU, real household income per capita increased by 0.1% in the second quarter, after increasing by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2026. At the same time, real household consumption per capita increased by 0.4%, after a decline of 0.1% in the previous quarter.

In the second quarter of 2026, the slight increase in the real per capita income of families in the euro area - says Eurostat - is mainly explained by the positive contribution of net capital income and other net current transfers, while in the EU by income from employment and social benefits other than social transfers in kind.

The largest 'negative contributor' in the euro area was gross operating margin and gross mixed income, while in the EU it was current taxes and net social contributions. That is, more taxes and contributions.

Thus, again in the second quarter, the savings rate decreased by 0.2% in the euro area and by 0.3 percentage points in the EU compared to the previous quarter. The household savings rate increased in four Member States and decreased in eleven. The largest increase was recorded in Poland and Czechia (+0.6 percentage points in both).

At the same time, the largest decline was observed in Finland (-1.6 percentage points), Hungary (-1.4 percentage points) and Italy (-1.2 percentage points).

The household investment rate remained stable in the euro area and decreased by 0.1 percentage points in the EU compared to the previous quarter. Among the Member States, the largest increase in the household investment rate was recorded in Hungary (+0.7 percentage points) while the largest declines were observed in Ireland (-0.7 percentage points) and Italy (-0.3 percentage points).