Low saving rate not a major concern

The continued decline in the saving rate, which is now close to a 16-year low, is not a major concern given the recent surge in household net wealth. Furthermore, as the saving rate is calculated from two different sources – with consumption estimated from expenditure surveys and income estimates based on tax receipts – the data can be heavily revised. In this case, we suspect that the surge in unauthorised immigration could be driving a wedge between recorded expenditure and income flows.