The United States recorded a personal saving rate of 5.7 percent in August 2016, according to BEA’s September 30 release. That number cannot tell a person who has been out of work for months how much protection remains. This October 9 retrospective reads it alongside the October 7 employment report; neither document was announced that Sunday. [income2016][jobs2016]
BEA defines the saving rate as personal saving divided by disposable personal income. Personal saving subtracts outlays and personal current taxes from income; outlays include consumption, personal interest payments and personal current transfers. The rate is an aggregate accounting relationship, not a finding that every household put aside the same share or held an emergency fund of a particular size. [income2016]
BLS counted about 2.0 million people unemployed for at least 27 weeks in September, essentially unchanged over the month. They represented 24.9 percent of unemployed people. The release does not connect those individuals to BEA’s saving total. It therefore cannot establish their savings, debts or access to help, even though it documents a prolonged absence from employment. [jobs2016]
Our ethical reading is to resist turning the national saving rate into a judgment about individual prudence. Responsible assistance must weigh immediate need against limited resources; responsible reporting must acknowledge that these releases do not identify who needs what. Asking about an applicant’s circumstances is more defensible than assuming an average describes them. This is a question of dignity and evidence, not a religious prescription or a measured verdict on any aid program. The figures retain their historical release vintage, including BEA’s superseded estimates. [income2016][jobs2016]
Source documents
- Personal Income and Outlays, August 2016https://www.bea.gov/news/2016/personal-income-and-outlays-august-2016
- Employment Situation, September 2016https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/empsit_10072016.htm