Household Absorption

Indicator Study | Active | As of 2026-03-06 | Freshness 61d

Household Absorption is 'active' with a composite score of 64.3. The hottest components are Debt-service pressure 71.1, Income strain 64.6.

64.33 Score

61 day(s) Freshness

2026-03-06 As Of

Component Scores

Driver	Component	Score	Raw	Transformed
Consumer sentiment	Income strain	72.92	53.30	-53.60
Household debt service ratio	Debt-service pressure	71.07	11.32	11.32
Real personal consumption expenditures	Spending strain	61.72	16772.70	-2.12
Real disposable personal income	Income strain	56.19	18108.70	-0.44
Real retail sales	Spending strain	54.95	227696.00	-0.66

Higher scores indicate more replacement pressure or fragility for this study.

All lines are scored on the same 0-100 scale using trailing z-scores on a weekly Friday panel.

Higher scores mean households are absorbing less of the shock through income and spending, and more through strain.
This study deliberately scores fragility, not resilience, so that it rolls cleanly into the fragility composite.
Mechanism note: If AI-linked disruption is becoming macro-relevant, it should eventually leak into slower real income growth, weaker spending follow-through, and tighter household cash-flow tolerance.
Freshness: the stalest source series in this study is 61 day(s) old.

Household Absorption remains elevated at 64.3, driven by high debt‑service pressure (71.1) and income strain (64.6).

Composite score of 64.3 (as of 2026‑03‑06) shows sustained expansion from its 2021 low of ~18, with recent weekly values hovering around 60‑65.
Debt‑service pressure leads component scores at 71.1, indicating rising debt burdens relative to income.
Income strain at 64.6 and consumer sentiment (UMCSENT) contribute to the score, while spending strain is modest at 58.3.

Caveat: The index is forward‑looking and subject to revision; recent volatility in raw economic series may affect the transformed scores.