Economic Figures|Are Positive

(CN) – Personal income increased $58.2 billion, or 0.5 percent, and disposable personal income increased $121.8 billion, or 1.1 percent, in April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.     Personal consumption continued to decline with a monthly slide of $5.4 billion, or 0.1 percent. But the numbers overall represent a substantial change in direction from March when all categories were negative with the decline in personal consumption three times worse.      In March, personal income decreased $25.9 billion, or 0.2 percent, DPI increased $8.2 billion, or 0.1 percent, and PCE decreased $33.0 billion, or 0.3 percent, based on revised estimates. The pattern of changes in income reflect, in part, the pattern of reduced personal current taxes and increased government social benefit payments associated with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.