Household Income Growth Across OECD Countries Slows to 0.2% in the First Quarter of 2026

PARIS, August 28, 2026 — Household income across the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD, grew by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2026, slowing from 0.6% in the fourth quarter of 2025. The figures measure income after taking inflation into account, giving a better indication of whether people had more or less money available to spend than before. Income per person increased in 13 of the 21 OECD countries with available data, while eight countries recorded declines.

Economic output told a slightly different story. Real GDP per person, which measures the value of goods and services produced in an economy after adjusting for inflation, grew 0.3% in the first quarter of 2026, up from 0.2% in the fourth quarter of 2025. The difference shows that stronger economic output does not necessarily translate into the same rate of growth in household income.

G7 Economies Show Different Results

Among the G7 economies, real household income per person increased by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2026, while real GDP per person grew by 0.3%. Canada, Germany and the United States each recorded 0.2% growth in household income per person. The results marked an improvement from the fourth quarter of 2025, when income was unchanged in Canada, increased 0.1% in Germany and declined 0.2% in the United States.

The United Kingdom recorded a different result. Household income per person fell 0.8% in the first quarter of 2026 after rising 1.1% in the fourth quarter of 2025. The figures show that households in major developed economies experienced very different changes in their inflation-adjusted income even during the same three-month period.

Hungary Records Strongest Growth

Hungary recorded the largest increase in household income per person among the OECD countries with available data. Income rose 6.0% in the first quarter of 2026, compared with 1.7% in the fourth quarter of 2025. A 6.3% increase in employee compensation, which includes wages and other payments received by workers, was the main factor behind the first-quarter increase.

Hungary’s household income growth was also much higher than its 0.9% growth in economic output per person. Chile also recorded one of the largest increases in household income per person during the first quarter. These results were far above the 0.2% increase recorded across the OECD as a whole.

Image credit: OECD

Greece and Austria See Declines

Greece recorded the largest decline in household income per person among the OECD countries covered by the data. Income fell 3.6% in the first quarter of 2026. Austria recorded the second-largest decline, at 2.8%. In both countries, lower net property income and social benefits contributed to the reductions.

Net property income includes income such as interest, dividends and other returns from financial and property assets, while social benefits include payments such as government assistance. Changes in these sources can affect household income even when the wider economy is growing.

Household Income Trails Economic Growth

Across the OECD, household income per person increased 0.2% in the first quarter of 2026, compared with 0.3% growth in economic output per person. The result also marked a slowdown from the 0.6% increase in household income recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025, while economic output growth increased from 0.2% to 0.3%.

The figures show why economic growth and household income do not always move at the same pace. Wages, investment and property income, and government benefits all influence how much income households have after inflation. In the first quarter of 2026, those factors produced very different results across OECD countries, ranging from a 6.0% increase in Hungary to a 3.6% decline in Greece.