New OECD data shows a widening gap between economic growth and household prosperity, with Greece and Austria bearing the sharpest falls in real income.
Household budgets across the OECD are barely keeping pace with inflation, as fresh data reveals income growth has slowed sharply just as GDP ticks higher, a divergence that is playing out very differently from one country to the next.
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Real household income per capita in OECD countries increased by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2026, slowing from the 0.6% rise recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Over the same period, real GDP per capita grew by 0.3%, edging up from 0.2% in the final quarter of 2025.
While GDP growth captures changes in overall economic activity, growth in household income reflects changes in the income households receive, that is, the income available for consumption or saving.
Of the 21 countries for which data are available, 13 recorded an increase in real household income per capita, while the remaining 8 saw a decline.
How G7 economies compare
Among G7 economies, real household income per capita rose by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2026, although developments varied from country to country.
In Italy, real household income per capita bounced back after a 0.9% fall in the fourth quarter of 2025 and increased by 0.8% in the first quarter of 2026.
The rebound was driven mainly by higher employee compensation, linked to a slight drop in the unemployment rate (from 5.7% to 5.4% in the first quarter of 2026), which offset a decline in social benefits.
At the same time, growth in real GDP per capita held steady at 0.3%.
In Canada, Germany and the United States, real household income per capita increased by 0.2%, compared with 0.0%, 0.1% and -0.2%, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2025.
By contrast, in the United Kingdom real household income per capita fell by 0.8% after a 1.1% increase in the previous quarter. This drop reflects a higher tax burden on income and wealth, partly due to the reduction in the capital gains tax allowance, combined with lower net social benefits and stronger inflationary pressures.
Meanwhile, real GDP per capita in the United Kingdom rose by 0.6%, following two consecutive quarters of zero growth.
A slight decrease was also recorded in France, where real household income per capita edged down by 0.1% after a 0.3% increase in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Among the other OECD countries, the largest increases in real household income per capita were recorded in Hungary and Chile.
In Hungary, a 6.3% rise in employee compensation led to an acceleration in real household income per capita, from 1.7% in the fourth quarter of 2025 to 6.0% in the first quarter of 2026, far outpacing the 0.9% increase in real GDP per capita.
In Chile, higher compensation for employees and the self-employed, together with an increase in net property income, resulted in a 4.8% rise in real household income per capita in the first quarter of 2026, after no change in the previous quarter.
Conversely, the sharpest declines in the first quarter of 2026 were recorded in Greece and Austria, where real household income per capita contracted because of falls in net property income and social benefits, dropping by 3.6% and 2.8%, respectively.
What happened in Greece in the first quarter of 2026
Real household disposable income per capita fell by 3.6% compared with the previous quarter, the steepest drop among OECD countries.
According to the OECD, the decline is mainly due to two factors: a reduction in net property income, such as interest, dividends and investment income, and a reduction in net social benefits to households.
