OECD

Real household income per capita in the OECD increased by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2026, a slowdown from 0.6% growth in Q4 2025. Meanwhile, real GDP per capita grew by 0.3%, a slight pickup from 0.2% in Q4 2025. Among the 21 countries with available data, 13 recorded growth in real household income per capita, and 8 recorded a contraction.

Among G7 economies, real household income per capita increased by 0.2% in Q1 2026, reflecting varied outcomes across countries. Real GDP per capita growth remained stable at 0.3%. In Canada, Germany and the United States, real household income per capita grew by 0.2%, up from 0.0%, 0.1% and -0.2%, respectively, in Q4 2025. By contrast, real household income per capita contracted in the United Kingdom by 0.8% following a 1.1% increase in the previous quarter. Among other OECD countries, the largest increases in real household income per capita were recorded in Hungary and Chile. In Hungary, a 6.3% increase in remuneration of employees drove real household income per capita growth, up from 1.7% in Q4 2025 to 6.0% in Q1 2026. This exceeded the 0.9% growth in real GDP per capita. By contrast, the largest decreases in Q1 2026 were recorded in Greece and Austria, where real household income per capita was eroded by reductions in net property income and social benefits, leading to contractions by 3.6% and 2.8%, respectively.

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