Houshold gross disposable income is estimated to have increased by 9.64% in the first quarter of 2022, compared with last year‘s corresponding quarter. Disposable income per capita amounted to little over 1.1 million ISK in the quarter and is estimated to have increased by 7.49% compared with the first quarter of 2022. Due to increased inflation rate, the purchasing power of household disposable income per capita in the first quarter of 2022 increased by 1.23% compared with last year’s corresponding quarter, but the consumer price index increased by 6.18% during the same period.
The total income of the household sector increased by 12.6% in the first quarter of 2022, compared with the first quarter of the previous year. The largest increase was in wages and salaries which are estimated to have increased by 15.8% from last year’s corresponding quarter. It is estimated that property income increased by 6.7% during the same period, but income from interests increased by 18.9%.
Social benefits, covering social benefits and pensions paid, decreased by 2.4% in the quarter. Pensions paid increased while social benefits decrease considerably after having increased excessively during the corresponding quarter of last year due to increased unemployment and the measures taken by the Icelandic government to mitigate the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Total expenditure of the household sector increased by roughly 16% in the first quarter of 2022 compared with the first quarter of the previous year. Taxes on income are estimated to have increased by 20.4% and that net social contributions increased by 17% from last year’s corresponding quarter.
Property expenditure is estimated to have increased by 14.6% in the first quarter of 2022 compared with last year’s corresponding quarter where interest payments increased by 15% during the same period which can largely be attributed to the increase in the level of household real estate investments during the period.
These are preliminary figures and thus Statistics Iceland will publish revised figures when exhaustive information is available, e.g. tax returns from corporations and individuals.