| Table 1.1 Seasonally Adjusted Gross Household Saving by Component | €million | ||
| Total Disposable Income (B.6g + D.8) | Final Consumption Expenditure (P.3) | Gross Saving Ratio | |
| 2023Q4 | 42,605 | 37,065 | 13.00% |
| 2024Q1 | 43,909 | 37,325 | 14.99% |
The household saving rate in the first quarter of 2024 was 14.99%. This was an increase from the rate of 13.00% in the last quarter of 2023, and the first increase after three quarters of decline. As Table 1.1 above shows, seasonally adjusted, Total Disposable Income (TDI) rose faster than Final Consumption Expenditure (FCE, P.3) in the quarter.
Households used their savings to add to their wealth in the form of real assets (mainly new homes) and financial assets (such as bank deposits). Unadjusted, saving (B.8g) was €8.3bn in the quarter and capital spending (P.5) was €3.7bn. Households also increased their assets in pension funds (D.8) by €1.1bn. Figures from the Central Bank of Ireland show that households added €1.9bn to their deposits in banks. Loan liabilities of households to banks were up €0.1bn in the three months. Households' financial assets also include life assurance funds and shares. Full accounts of assets and liabilities in financial instruments will be published by the Central Bank.
Data has been revised since the Household Saving Q1 2024 release in June 2024 to include the changes in the Annual National Accounts. This includes higher compensation of employees and therefore higher household income and saving.
The seasonally adjusted data series which includes Gross Disposable Income, Personal Consumption of Goods and Services and Gross Saving of the Household incl. NPISH sector is available on PxStat. Only the most significant transactions are shown in the table for each sector in this release: the entire unadjusted series for all variables published in this release are also available at the same link. Price-adjusted Total Disposable Income and Final Consumption Expenditure of Households are shown in PxStat ISQ04. See Background Notes for definitions of the terms used.
| Saving ratio | |
| 2019Q1 | 13.55% |
| 2019Q2 | 13.41% |
| 2019Q3 | 13.60% |
| 2019Q4 | 15.72% |
| 2020Q1 | 24.73% |
| 2020Q2 | 34.04% |
| 2020Q3 | 21.05% |
| 2020Q4 | 25.71% |
| 2021Q1 | 31.00% |
| 2021Q2 | 22.04% |
| 2021Q3 | 19.57% |
| 2021Q4 | 19.32% |
| 2022Q1 | 16.44% |
| 2022Q2 | 16.18% |
| 2022Q3 | 15.06% |
| 2022Q4 | 14.15% |
| 2023Q1 | 15.43% |
| 2023Q2 | 13.46% |
| 2023Q3 | 13.50% |
| 2023Q4 | 13.00% |
| 2024Q1 | 14.99% |
The saving rate for Ireland and the Euro area as a whole (20 countries) are shown in Figure 1.2. The pattern in each is similar: spikes in the second quarter of 2020 and first quarter of 2021, followed by a decline to around pre-COVID-19 levels. Ireland's rate is close to that of the Euro area as a whole before and after the pandemic, but was significantly higher between 2020 and 2022. Ireland took longer to return to the 2019 level than its euro partners: it was 2023 before the saving rate in Ireland declined to its 2018-2019 average, while the Euro area as a whole got there in 2022. In the first quarter of 2024, the saving rate rose compared to 2023 levels in Ireland and in the Euro area more widely.
| Timeperiod | Euro 20 | Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| 2018Q1 | 11.9 | 11.5952385699599 |
| 2018Q2 | 12.24 | 12.56186569047 |
| 2018Q3 | 12.17 | 13.2826177097208 |
| 2018Q4 | 12.42 | 13.4462049421128 |
| 2019Q1 | 13.08 | 13.5483935067118 |
| 2019Q2 | 13.09 | 13.4110843977694 |
| 2019Q3 | 12.69 | 13.5962943607793 |
| 2019Q4 | 12.35 | 15.7161388893853 |
| 2020Q1 | 16.95 | 24.729149980096 |
| 2020Q2 | 25.1 | 34.0432980226249 |
| 2020Q3 | 16.65 | 21.0456774281615 |
| 2020Q4 | 18.61 | 25.70975284685 |
| 2021Q1 | 21.1 | 31.0001159679345 |
| 2021Q2 | 18.97 | 22.0364242660479 |
| 2021Q3 | 14.8 | 19.5711655820946 |
| 2021Q4 | 14.22 | 19.318973351224 |
| 2022Q1 | 14.32 | 16.4428527076923 |
| 2022Q2 | 12.71 | 16.179332311169 |
| 2022Q3 | 12.6 | 15.0591311733272 |
| 2022Q4 | 12.91 | 14.1475496087506 |
| 2023Q1 | 13.55 | 15.4293901275093 |
| 2023Q2 | 13.58 | 13.4583488582106 |
| 2023Q3 | 13.35 | 13.4952892579912 |
| 2023Q4 | 14.12 | 13.0025721441656 |
| 2024Q1 | 15.27 | 14.9948145238422 |
Overall household income is driven by Compensation of Employees (CoE (D.1), pay to workers). At current prices seasonally adjusted, CoE was €38bn in the quarter, 3.6% higher than Q4 2023. Figure 1.3 illustrates the changes by economic sector in the quarter after adjusting for seasonal factors. The most significant increase was in Distribution, Transport, Wholesale & Retail, which was up €330m (4.9%) in the quarter. This is a large sector both by total CoE and by numbers employed. Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing was the only sector to show a seasonally adjusted decline: it was down €11m or 3.3% compared to the last quarter of 2023.
Comparing year-on-year, higher take-home pay meant higher taxes (D.5) and PRSI (D.61) paid by households (see Table 1.2, below). There was also higher investment income received (D.4) on assets such as deposits and pension fund holdings as interest rates have risen.
| sector | Change (Seasonally Adjusted) since Q2-2023 €m |
|---|---|
| Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing | 3.22267221889285 |
| Industry (excl. Construction) | -2.14764605303935 |
| Construction | -31.5428235912632 |
| Distribution, Transport, Hotels and Restaurants | -148.299752704423 |
| Information and Communication | -70.3793832184369 |
| Financial and Insurance Activities | 12.5861230187229 |
| Real Estate Activities | -9.7112429897993 |
| Professional, Admin and Support Services | -46.1395799077454 |
| Public Admin, Education and Health | 157.309804798757 |
| Arts, Entertainment and Other Services | 4.00473897986615 |
Get the Data: Compensation of Employees by Economic Activity
Gross Disposable Income (B.6G) of households was €42.8bn in Q1 2024 before price and seasonal adjustment (that is, nominal unadjusted). Total Disposable Income (TDI, which also includes the adjustment for the change in pension entitlements (D.8)) was €43.8bn in the quarter, an increase of €3.9bn or 10% on Q1 2023. Inflation was still significant in 2023 and after accounting for this reduction in purchasing power and seasonal factors household revenue in real terms grew by just 1%. Figure 1.4 shows TDI before and after adjustments.
| TDI Current Price Unadjusted | TDI Current Price Seasonally Adjusted | TDI Constant Price Seasonally Adjusted | |
| 2020Q1 | 32.85651 | 33.35142 | 37.89764 |
| 2020Q2 | 32.51576 | 31.59679 | 37.62085 |
| 2020Q3 | 31.51704 | 31.02424 | 36.37733 |
| 2020Q4 | 31.17374 | 32.15903 | 37.62951 |
| 2021Q1 | 32.35484 | 32.83359 | 37.88616 |
| 2021Q2 | 34.66796 | 33.69131 | 38.79931 |
| 2021Q3 | 35.44206 | 34.81975 | 39.48736 |
| 2021Q4 | 34.07559 | 35.3039 | 39.3079 |
| 2022Q1 | 35.05671 | 35.45877 | 38.14035 |
| 2022Q2 | 37.84231 | 36.80883 | 39.35814 |
| 2022Q3 | 38.50924 | 37.78958 | 40.02246 |
| 2022Q4 | 37.0783 | 38.58807 | 39.98116 |
| 2023Q1 | 39.94539 | 40.15828 | 40.56629 |
| 2023Q2 | 41.86632 | 40.83405 | 40.06782 |
| 2023Q3 | 42.36512 | 41.61668 | 39.95951 |
| 2023Q4 | 40.93179 | 42.60495 | 40.7762 |
| 2024Q1 | 43.83075 | 43.90891 | 41.19225 |
Total household consumption (P.3) was €35.5bn in the first quarter of 2024, up 9.3% compared to the first quarter of 2023. However, comparing the price and seasonally adjusted data, consumption was up just 2.6% in the year, owing to inflation running at over 7% in the period.
After taking out price rises, and adjusting for seasonal factors, consumption rose by 0.6% compared to the last quarter of 2023. The Retail Sales Index volume was up 2.7% overall, with Textiles, Clothing & Footwear showing the greatest volume growth. In the consumer-facing sectors of the Services Index there was significant growth in Transport & Storage and Other Service Activities (such as gambling and hairdressing).
Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.