New Zealand's household saving remains positive despite cost-of-living pressures

New Zealand household saving was 424 million NZ dollars (253.66 million U.S. dollars) in the December 2023 quarter as household net disposable income exceeded spending for the third consecutive quarter despite cost-of-living pressures, according to the statistics department Stats NZ on Thursday.

"Across all households, saving has remained positive despite cost-of-living pressures," said Stats NZ national accounts institutional sectors senior manager Paul Pascoe.

However, the overall level of household saving declined in the quarter as spending increased at a faster pace than net disposable income, Pascoe said, adding that these statistics describe the household sector as a whole, rather than the different experiences of individual households.

The household saving ratio, which compares household saving to net disposable income, decreased from 1.7 percent in the September 2023 quarter to 0.7 percent in the December 2023 quarter, he said.

Household net disposable income increased by 0.3 percent to 59 billion NZ dollars (35.3 billion U.S. dollars) in the December quarter, while household spending increased by 1.3 percent to 58.6 billion NZ dollars (35.06 billion U.S. dollars), Stats NZ said.

Household net disposable income is the amount of money a household has once all money coming in, such as wages, interest and child support, and outgoings such as taxes have been accounted for. It represents the money a household can spend, save, or invest, it said.

Total income receivable increased by 1.2 billion NZ dollars (720 million U.S. dollars) for the December 2023 quarter, which was driven largely by a 1.5 percent increase in wage and salary earners income and a 3.5 percent increase in social assistance payments received by households such as jobseeker and emergency assistance benefit payments, according to Stats NZ.

The increase in household spending was led by a rise in spending on transport services such as air travel, it said.