Spending Rose 0.9% in August. Income Rose 0.2%. The Saving Rate Is 4.1%.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis's August report shows households increasing outlays more than four times as fast as their income grew, with the PCE price index 3.4% above a year earlier.
The short answer
- Personal income rose $66.6 billion, or 0.2% at a monthly rate, in August 2026. Personal consumption expenditures rose $190.8 billion, or 0.9%.
- The personal saving rate was 4.1% of disposable personal income.
- The PCE price index rose 0.3% on the month and 3.4% over the year. Excluding food and energy, it rose 0.2% on the month and 3.0% over the year.
- Adjusted for prices, real PCE rose $92.8 billion, or 0.6% at a monthly rate, so most of the spending increase was volume rather than price.
American households spent considerably more in August than their incomes grew. The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported on 30 September that personal income rose $66.6 billion, a 0.2% monthly increase, while personal consumption expenditures rose $190.8 billion, or 0.9%. Disposable personal income, which is income after taxes, rose $68.6 billion, or 0.3%.
The arithmetic of that gap shows up in one number. The personal saving rate -- saving as a share of disposable personal income -- was 4.1% in August.
The spending was real, not just dearer
A jump in nominal spending can be an illusion created by prices. In August it was mostly not. Real PCE, which strips out price changes, rose $92.8 billion, or 0.6% at a monthly rate. Two-thirds of the 0.9% nominal increase was therefore additional volume rather than additional cost.
The increase split across both halves of the consumption basket. Spending on goods rose $114.1 billion and spending on services rose $76.7 billion.
Where the income came from
The BEA attributes the August income increase primarily to compensation and government social benefits. Within compensation, private wages and salaries led the gains. Within transfer payments, Medicare and Social Security benefits were the main contributors.
The inflation readings
The PCE price index is the measure the Federal Reserve formally targets. In August it rose 0.3% on the month and 3.4% over the twelve months. The core index, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.2% on the month and 3.0% over the year.
- PCE price index: +0.3% month, +3.4% year
- Core PCE price index: +0.2% month, +3.0% year
- Personal income: +$66.6 billion (+0.2%)
- Disposable personal income: +$68.6 billion (+0.3%)
- Personal consumption expenditures: +$190.8 billion (+0.9%)
- Real personal consumption expenditures: +$92.8 billion (+0.6%)
- Personal saving rate: 4.1%
What comes next
The BEA publishes personal income and outlays monthly, roughly four weeks after the month it covers. Each release also carries revisions to earlier months, so the August figures above are themselves subject to change.
Sources
- Personal Income and Outlays, August 2026 (full release PDF) — U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
- Personal Income and Outlays, August 2026 — U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
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- Published:
- 5 Oct 2026, 05:14 UTC
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- 5 Oct 2026, 05:14 UTC
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