Personal Spending, Incomes Rise in September

ersonal spending rose 0.5% in September, while incomes rose 1.7%, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

The spending rise — which followed a 0.5% drop in August — adjusted for inflation fell 0.4%, after a comparable 1% drop in August, Commerce said.

Consumer spending increases can boost demand for new factory goods and the trucking shipments that get them to stores.

Inflation-adjusted spending on durable goods such as automobiles fell 2.4% following an 8.6% drop in August, while spending on services, which accounts for about 60% of all spending, rose 0.3%.

Incomes rose 6.3% in September over a year earlier, paced by a 6% gain in wages and salaries, Bloomberg reported.