Consumer spending and personal income rose modestly in June, the government said Monday, pointing to slow but steady economic growth in the second half of the year.
The Commerce Department said personal incomes rose 0.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $6.02 trillion in June, and spending picked up a modest 0.2 percent to a rate of $4.86 trillion.
“It’s consistent with the kind of subpar economic growth we’re all expecting for the rest of this year,” said economist Sung Won Sohn of Norwest Corp. in Minneapolis.
In its midyear review of economic prospects, issued Monday as President Clinton flew to Vermont, the White House forecast the economy would expand 1.9 percent this year, picking up moderately to 2.5 percent in 1996.
A separate report Monday, showing the Chicago Purchasing Managers’ Index climbed in July, also pointed to a gradually improving economy as new orders and backlogs grew at the start of the second half.
The index of area business activity rose to 49.7 points in July on a seasonally adjusted basis from an unrevised 47.6 points in June and 53.5 in May.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the manufacturing sector and a reading below 50 indicates a contraction.
