BRUSSELS, Oct 30 — Per capita household consumption in the European Union (EU) dropped by a staggering 12.3 per cent in the second quarter (Q2), the sharpest decline since records began in 1999, reported Xinhua news agency.
The fall was recorded as the 27-member bloc implemented Covid-19 containment measures, noted the EU’s statistical office, Eurostat, on Thursday. It followed a less pronounced drop of 3.2 per cent in the previous quarter.
In the euro area, the fall was similarly drastic, down by 10.7 per cent in Q2, compared to a 3.3-per cent drop in the previous quarter.
In Q2, household real income per capita decreased by 4.8 per cent in the EU and by 3.2 per cent in the euro area, following a slight increase of 0.5 per cent in both the EU and the euro area in the first quarter.
According to Eurostat, household gross disposable income decreased by 5.6 per cent in the EU and by 3.3 per cent in the euro area, mainly due to the decreases in wages.
— Bernama
