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Individual consumption recovers from the shock of COVID-19 with a 3.5% increase in 2021, but still 25% lower than in 2007

The slow recovery of individual consumption which began to take place after the Great Recession was abruptly interrupted by the pandemic in 2020, falling to €16,500, 10.1% less than the previous year. However, in 2021 it increased 3.5%, reaching €17,100, an amount still far from its peak of €22,800 in 2007. The Great Recession already had a strong impact on the amount of individual consumption achieved at the turn of the century, dropping 24.7% from 2007 to 2014. The drop was even greater in larger households, including those with dependent children that experienced a drop in consumption of 25.9%. In addition, the prolonged period of crisis increased the inequality in the distribution of individual consumption, which did not show any improvements, not even in the recovery period between 2014 and 2019. Although, due to the lockdown measures in 2020, the reduction in consumption led to a reduction in inequality, there was an increase in inequality with the recovery of consumption in 2021.