Spending is up but savings are down: the household saving rate falls to 14.4 percent

Brussels – Eurozone citizens are beginning to dip into their savings. According to the data released today (9 April) by Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office, the household savings rate in the euro area fell to 14.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025, marking a decline from 14.8 percent in the previous quarter. This trend can be explained by a specific dynamic: in the fourth quarter of 2025, personal consumption rose at a faster rate (+1.2 percent) than gross disposable income (+0.8 percent). Against a backdrop where the cost-of-living index reached 2.5 percent in March, European households appear to be prioritizing current expenditure, whilst maintaining a slight increase in the investment rate (primarily in the purchase and renovation of homes), which rose from 8.7 percent to 8.8 percent. 

While households are spending, businesses remain cautious. Eurostat data show that the investment rate of non-financial corporations fell to 21.4 percent (from 21.9 percent in the previous quarter), reaching the lowest level recorded since the third quarter of 2015. This decline is due to a 1.7 percent contraction in gross fixed capital formation, while gross value added nevertheless grew by 0.8 percent. 

Despite the investment slowdown, corporate profitability remains solid. The profit share of firms in the euro area remained stable at 39.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025. This stability is the result of a balance between the rise in labor costs (wages and social security contributions) and the growth in value added, both of which stood at 0.8 percent. Eurostat notes that these economic indicators are set against a backdrop of geopolitical and economic uncertainty: as already highlighted by the preliminary estimates in March, the surge in energy prices (+4.9 percent) linked to international tensions is fueling a new inflationary spiral.