Personal Incomes Up; Construction Off Sharply
Personal incomes rose in January at the fastest rate in a year, bolstered by bonuses to highly paid executives, but construction activity fell sharply as the housing industry continued to slump. The Commerce Department reported on Thursday that personal incomes rose by 1 percent in January while consumer spending increased 0.5 percent. The income advance was the largest since a 1.3 percent jump in January 2006. The income and spending gains were bigger than had been expected. The government also reported that construction activity fell by 0.8 percent in January, double the decline that analysts had been expecting.
See "Personal Incomes Up; Construction Off Sharply", Associated Press, The New York Times, March 1, 2007