July income was flat, but spending inches up

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- People didn't make more money in July, but they were spending a bit more, a government report showed Friday.

The Commerce Department said personal income was unchanged in July.

Economists were expecting personal income to increase 0.1%, according to a consensus estimate compiled by Briefing.com.

Personal income shot up by 1.4% in May and then fell by a revised 1.1% in June as a result of stimulus efforts by the government, or the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Excluding the effects of the stimulus, personal income was much less volatile in the past three months.

Meanwhile, spending by individuals ticked up 0.2%, in line with expectations. In June, personal spending rose by a revised 0.6%.

A key measure of inflation, the so-called PCE Core price index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose by 0.1% in July, in line with analyst expectations.

Despite the fact that paychecks aren't getting any fatter, consumers have been trying to stow away cash after the recession.

Personal savings as a percentage of disposable personal income was 4.2% in July, compared with 4.5% in July.