US: Unprecedented drop in spending, income soars on transfers – Wells Fargo

Analysts at Wells Fargo, point out that thanks to a massive surge in government transfer payments, April 2020 goes down in the history books as the largest monthly increase in personal income on record.

Key Quotes: 

“Government transfer payments increased $3 trillion in April— can that be right? Recall that these are annualized figures, so when you add up the $1,200/individual or $2,400/household and then factor in the $600 weekly additional unemployment benefits…then annualize it, you get a stunning number. The result was the largest ever increase in income, and a reminder why the NBER excludes transfers when dating recessions.”

“The sudden stoppage of spending in many key services industries resulted in a never-before seen 12.0% monthly decline in real services.”

“Real consumer spending is heading into the second quarter falling at three-month annualized rate of 56.8%.”