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STAT/09/62

30 April 2009

Sector Accounts: fourth quarter of 2008

Household saving rate 15.1% in the euro area and 12.2% in the EU27

Business investment rate 22.1% in the euro area and 22.8% in the EU27

In the fourth quarter of 2008, in both the euro area and the EU27, the seasonally adjusted household saving rate increased, while the household investment rate decreased. In both zones, businesses recorded a fall in investment rates and in profit shares.

These data come from a detailed set of quarterly European sector accounts¹ released by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, and the European Central Bank (ECB).

Household saving rates up in both zones

In the fourth quarter of 2008, the seasonally adjusted² gross saving rate³ of households was 12.2% in the EU27⁴, compared with 10.8% in the third quarter of 2008. In the euro area⁵ (EA15), the household saving rate was 15.1% in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with 14.1% in the previous quarter.

Household saving rate (seasonally adjusted, %)

[ Figures and graphics available in PDF and WORD PROCESSED ]

In the euro area, the household saving rate increased, since final consumption expenditure fell more (-1.3%) than disposable income (-0.3%).

Household disposable income and final consumption expenditure (euro area)

(nominal growth, seasonally adjusted data, % change compared to the previous quarter)

[ Figures and graphics available in PDF and WORD PROCESSED ]

Household investment rates down in both zones

In the EU27, the gross investment rate of households⁶ was 8.9% in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with 9.6% in the third quarter of 2008. In the euro area, the household investment rate was 9.9% in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with 10.4% in the previous quarter.

Household investment rate (seasonally adjusted, %)

[ Figures and graphics available in PDF and WORD PROCESSED ]

In the euro area, gross fixed capital formation (investment, mostly in dwellings) fell more steeply (-5.3%) than disposable income (-0.3%). This led to a decrease in the household investment rate, extending the downward trend that started in 2007.

Household gross disposable income and gross fixed capital formation (euro area)

(nominal growth, seasonally adjusted data, % change compared to the previous quarter)

[ Figures and graphics available in PDF and WORD PROCESSED ]

Business investment rates down in both zones

In the EU27, the gross investment rate⁷ of non-financial corporations was 22.8% in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with 23.8% in the third quarter of 2008. In the euro area, the investment rate was 22.1% in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with 23.8% in the previous quarter.

Investment rate of non-financial corporations (seasonally adjusted, %)

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In the euro area, the decrease in the gross investment rate of non-financial corporations was due to gross fixed capital formation (investment) falling more steeply (-9.0%) than value added (-2.2%).

Gross value added and gross fixed capital formation of non-financial corporations (euro area)

(nominal growth, seasonally adjusted data, % change compared to the previous quarter)

[ Figures and graphics available in PDF and WORD PROCESSED ]

Business profit shares down in both zones

In the EU27, the gross profit share⁸ of non-financial corporations was 37.5% in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with 38.0% in the third quarter of 2008. In the euro area, the profit share was 37.6% in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with 38.7% in the previous quarter.

Profit share of non-financial corporations (seasonally adjusted, %)

[ Figures and graphics available in PDF and WORD PROCESSED ]

In the euro area the gross profit share of non-financial corporations decreased, since compensation of employees (wage costs) plus net taxes on production fell less (-0.6%) than value added (-2.2%).

Gross value added and compensation of employees plus taxes less subsidies on production (euro area)

(nominal growth, seasonally adjusted data, % change compared to the previous quarter)

[ Figures and graphics available in PDF and WORD PROCESSED ]

• 1. 

  Institutional sectors bring together economic units with broadly similar characteristics and behaviour, namely: households (including non-profit institutions serving households), non-financial corporations, financial corporations, government and the rest of the world.
• 2. 

  Seasonal adjustment has been performed using the Tramo-Seats method. Euro area seasonally adjusted series are built up indirectly as the sum of seasonally adjusted components. On the contrary, as European Union series are affected by exchange rate movements, the EU ratios have been adjusted directly.
• 3. 

  The gross saving rate of households is defined as gross saving divided by gross disposable income, with the latter being adjusted for the change in the net equity of households in pension funds reserves. Gross saving is the part of the gross disposable income which is not spent as final consumption expenditure. Therefore, saving rates increase when gross disposable income grows at a higher rate than final consumption expenditure.
• 4. 

  The European Union (EU27) consists of 27 Member States: Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom plus the European Central Bank and the EU institutions.
• 5. 

  The euro area (EA15) consisted of 15 Member States up to 31 December 2008: Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia and Finland plus the European Central Bank. From 1 January 2009, the euro area (EA16) also includes Slovakia. Data for EA16 will be published as of 30 July 2009 (first release of sector accounts for the first quarter of 2009).
• 6. 

  The gross investment rate of households is defined as gross fixed capital formation divided by gross disposable income, with the latter being adjusted for the change in the net equity of households in pension funds reserves. Household investment mainly consists of the purchase and renovation of dwellings.
• 7. 

  The gross investment rate of non-financial corporations is defined as gross fixed capital formation divided by gross value added. This ratio relates the investment of non-financial businesses in fixed assets (buildings, machinery etc.) to the value added created during the production process. The seasonally adjusted data published in this news release have been adjusted for one outlier found in national data, in the second quarter of 2005.
• 8. 

  The profit share of non-financial corporations is defined as gross operating surplus divided by gross value added. This profitability-type indicator shows the share of the value added created during the production process remunerating capital. It is the complement of the share of wage costs (plus net taxes on production) in value added.

Methodological information

The compilation of the European sector accounts follows the European System of Accounts (ESA 95) and covers the period from the first quarter of 1999 to the fourth quarter of 2008. The European sector accounts are not a simple sum of the data of individual countries. There are six specific compilation steps: (1) conversion to euro, (2) estimation of missing countries, (3) incorporation of the European institutions, (4) estimation of the flows between the euro area / EU and third countries, (5) balancing of the accounts and (6) seasonal adjustment of key series.

Due to the conversion to euro, the growth rates of EU aggregates may be affected by movements in exchange rates and should be viewed with caution. For this reason, nominal growth rates (bar charts and tables 4 and 5) are provided for the euro area only. However, there is hardly any impact on ratios such as saving and investment rates or profit shares.

The rest of the world accounts, as compiled by Member States, record transactions between the national economy and all non-resident units, including those in other EU Member States. To measure the external transactions of the euro area / EU, it is necessary to remove cross-border flows within the area concerned. Imbalances between intra-imports and intra-exports, called “asymmetries”, are then eliminated. Currently, intra-flows and resulting asymmetries are not removed in the other domains of national accounts of Eurostat. Therefore, European sector accounts are internally consistent but have discrepancies with other national accounts data.

For the time being, the publication is limited to the European aggregates: the EA15 and the EU27, i.e. no quarterly individual country data are published by Eurostat.

For detailed data and methodology, please see Eurostat's website at: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/sectoraccounts and ECB's website at: http://www.ecb.eu/stats/acc/html/index.en.html. Eurostat's website also includes detailed annual sector accounts by country and derived key indicators.

Release and revision policy

The quarterly releases are published four months after each quarter. The next release will take place on 30 July 2009.

The whole time series are revised every quarter. Compared with News Release 14/2009 of 30 January 2009, the household saving rate for the third quarter of 2008 has been revised from 14.4% to 14.1% in the euro area and from 10.7% to 10.8% in the EU27. The business investment rate has been revised from 23.5% to 23.8% in the euro area and from 23.6% to 23.8% in the EU27.

The ECB and Eurostat are publishing integrated non-financial and financial accounts, including financial balance sheets, for the euro area. Eurostat is also publishing the non-financial accounts of the European Union.