With a 5.2% increase over one year, household final consumption expenditure made a historic leap in 2021. INSEE points out, however, that the trend “
remains below that of before the crisis
”.
This increase indeed follows a year 2020 marked by the Covid crisis and the economic slowdown caused by the numerous restrictions put in place to fight against the spread of the economy (containment, curfew, etc.).
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If the figures are driven by a catch-up effect, the institute nevertheless points out that “
household purchasing power has increased
” over the past year.
Disposable income would thus have grown by 4% in 2021, a rate significantly higher than in 2020 (+1.1%).
A differential certainly attenuated, but not canceled, by the rise in prices (1.6% against 0.9%).
Food in decline
In detail, all the major consumption items have progressed (hotels and restaurants, transport, clothing, etc.) With only one exception: food.
Strongly stimulated in 2020 by confinements and telework, the latter has returned to normal.
A particularly visible trend development with the lack of interest in basic and conservation products, which "
reflect a decline in home-made
", underlines INSEE.
Several expenditure items were driven by a price increase.
This is the case for housing-related expenditure with, for example, energy prices rising sharply, particularly those of gas (+21.4% after –10.1%).
Ditto for transport, which rose sharply, in particular due to spending on fuels and lubricants which increased particularly (+ 18.2% after – 17.0%).
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A catch-up effect is also visible.
Thus spending on accommodation and catering increased sharply in volume (+15.2%), without however being able to offset the historic plunge of 2020 (–34.0%).