EU Households Shift Spending to Recreation, Up 1.2 Points, as Transport Share Falls
Updated
Updated · European Commission · Sep 2
EU Households Shift Spending to Recreation, Up 1.2 Points, as Transport Share Falls
3 articles · Updated · European Commission · Sep 2
Summary
Recreation, sport and culture posted the biggest rise in EU household spending shares in January 2026, up 1.2 percentage points from a year earlier; restaurants and accommodation rose 0.3 points and education 0.1.
Transport recorded the largest drop in spending share, down 0.4 percentage points, while information and communication fell 0.3 points, marking the main areas of retrenchment.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing, water and energy, and transport still accounted for 46.0% of total EU household consumption expenditure in January 2026.
Eurostat said each of those three largest categories saw substantial price increases in at least one recent year, underscoring their role in the broader rise in consumer prices.