American incomes and spending contracted in November as recession took a heavy toll on the world's biggest economy, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
Personal income contracted 0.2 percent in November from the previous month while consumption expenditures shrank 0.6 percent, the department said as companies carried out layoffs and revamped operations to cope with tough times.
Personal income, which tracks income from all sources, is the largest component of total income is wages and salaries estimated using payrolls and earnings data.
According to the department, personal income decreased 20.7 billion dollars or 0.2 percent in November while personal consumption expenditures decreased 56.1 billion dollars or 0.6 percent.
In October, personal income increased 11.3 billion dollars, or 0.1 percent, and personal consumption expenditures decreased 102.6 billion dollars, or 1.0 percent, based on revised estimates.
Private wage and salary disbursements decreased 8.7 billion dollars in November, compared with a decrease of 1.5 billion dollars in October, the department said.
The United States is facing prolonged recession after a housing mortgage crisis sparked financial turmoil across the globe and caused a severe economic downturn.
Copyright 2008  AFP American Edition
