Government support measures for households buffer the economic impacts of COVID-19

PARIS, 06 August. - (ANA) - Despite a 2.0% fall in real GDP per capita, in the OECD area in the first quarter of 2020, real household income per capita, which provides a better picture of changes in households’ economic well-being, grew by 0.1%.

In response to COVID-19, many governments introduced policies aimed at supporting household income. As a result, across all Major Seven economies, real household income per capita held up much better than real GDP per capita, which contracted sharply in all economies. For the OECD area as a whole, real household income growth outpaced GDP growth by 2.1 percentage points, the largest positive gap between the two measures since the financial crisis (2008 Q4).

Working with over 100 countries, the OECD is a global policy forum that promotes policies to improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.

AB/ANA/06 August 2020 - - -