Household Absorption

Indicator Study | Active | As of 2026-05-01 | Freshness 63d

Household Absorption is 'active' with a composite score of 60.8. The hottest components are Income strain 65.9, Debt-service pressure 64.9.

60.78 Score

63 day(s) Freshness

2026-05-01 As Of

Component Scores

Driver	Component	Score	Raw	Transformed
Consumer sentiment	Income strain	73.29	44.80	-53.00
Household debt service ratio	Debt-service pressure	64.88	11.16	11.16
Real personal consumption expenditures	Spending strain	60.77	16773.40	-2.13
Real disposable personal income	Income strain	58.45	17983.80	-0.02
Real retail sales	Spending strain	43.56	228669.00	-2.60

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 63 day(s) old.

Household Absorption is active with a composite score of 60.8, driven by high Income strain (65.9) and Debt‑service pressure (64.9).

Composite score: 60.78 (as of 2026‑05‑01), up from low‑50s but below the Dec‑2025 peak of ~66.
Income strain: 65.87 – strongest contributor, reflecting elevated consumer‑sentiment stress.
Debt‑service pressure: 64.88 – second‑strongest contributor, indicating rising debt burdens.

Caveat: The composite index is forward‑looking and subject to revision; recent volatility suggests it is sensitive to macro‑economic shocks.