Brussels – European households are spending, but their purchasing power is growing only gradually. In the second quarter of 2026, real per capita income rose by just 0.1 per cent in both the euro area and the European Union. Consumption, on the other hand, has picked up, fuelling spending but reducing the proportion of income left over, data published by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union, showed.
In the euro area, real consumption per capita rose by 0.3 per cent from the previous quarter, having remained stable in the first three months of the year. In the EU, the increase was more pronounced, at 0.4 per cent, following a 0.1 per cent fall in the first quarter. The recovery in spending, however, is accompanied by much more modest growth in real disposable income per person.
The impact is particularly evident in savings. In the eurozone, the household savings rate fell from 14.4 per cent to 14.2 per cent of disposable income, while in the EU it fell from 14.2 per cent to 13.9 per cent. Among the countries for which data are available, Italy recorded one of the most significant declines: the savings rate fell by 1.2 percentage points from the previous quarter, the sharpest fall alongside those of Hungary (-1.4 points) and Finland (-1.6 points).
The picture in Italy shows an even sharper decline in the ability to save. In the second quarter, the household savings rate fell by 1.2 percentage points from the first three months of the year. The investment rate of Italian households also fell by 0.3 percentage points. In the euro area, however, this indicator fell from 8.4 per cent to 8.3 per cent.
Economic difficulties are compounded by health-related issues, which disproportionately affect people at risk of poverty. In 2025, 92.7 million people in the EU were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, accounting for 20.9 per cent of the total population. Of these, according to another Eurostat survey published today (28 October), 24 per cent reported having moderate or severe difficulty walking, compared with 16.9 per cent of those not at risk of poverty or social exclusion. The gap is also evident in difficulties with memory and concentration (20.6 per cent compared with 14.5 per cent) and with seeing (23.8 per cent compared with 18.9 per cent). The differences are less pronounced when it comes to hearing. All these problems serve only to widen the economic gap in terms of the cost of care and, consequently, the higher expenses incurred.
The issue of poverty among Europeans was discussed at the plenary of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 19 October, to mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1992. Among the calls made – although these were not put to a vote – was for the EU’s next multiannual financial framework (MFF 2028–2034) to address this situation.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
