Data: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis; Chart: Axios Visuals
Americans saved a smaller share of their income in March than in any other month since 2022.
The personal saving rate, the percentage of income people are putting away after spending for things and accounting for taxes, dropped to 3.2% in March, according to government data.
Zoom in: That's down from 3.6% in February, and the 4.3% averaged over the prior 15 months from November 2022 to January 2024.
And March's dip is in spite of a 0.5% uptick in personal income.
In dollar terms, personal saving was $671 billion in March, compared to $739 billion in February.
Between the lines: Driving the drop were higher outlays for interest payments, and increased spending on health care services, housing and utilities, recreational items and food and beverages.
The big picture: People are still spending, even if that means saving less. For the second straight month, personal consumption expenditures (PCE) rose 0.8% in March, the strongest in more than a year, Axios' Courtenay Brown writes.