While household real income per capita rose in most of the 37 OECD countries during the first quarter of this year, Belgium was an exception with a fall of 1.4% in household real income per capita being recorded here.
The OECD says that real household income per capita is a key indicator of economic prosperity. It shows the resources households have at their disposal to buy goods and services or to save for future expenses.
In most OECD countries, disposable income rose during the first quarter of this year. For the OECD as a whole, the rise was 0.9%. This is thanks at least in part to countries such as Germany (+1.4%), France (+0.6%) and Italy (+3.4%).
The decline in real income experienced by households here in Belgium during the first quarter of 2024 was the first fall in household real income in Belgium since the last quarter of 2022.