August 2026 | Released September 30, 2026


+3.42 percent
PCE price index inflation
Aug 2025 to Aug 2026
+0.55 percent
Change in real PCE
Jul 2026 to Aug 2026
+0.24 percent
Change in personal income
Jul 2026 to Aug 2026


Expenditures and inflation


From July 2026 to August 2026:

  • Headline PCE price index inflation was 0.31 percent.
  • Core PCE price index inflation was 0.25 percent. This excludes food and energy prices, which tend to be more volatile.
  • All services inflation was 0.30 percent.
  • All goods inflation was 0.33 percent.
    • Durable goods inflation was 0.07 percent.
    • Nondurable goods inflation was 0.47 percent.


  • Real personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased by 0.55 percent, or $92.82 billion.
  • Real PCE on all services increased by 0.20 percent, or $22.27 billion.
  • Real PCE on all goods increased by 1.33 percent, or $76.44 billion.
    • Real PCE on durable goods increased by 1.93 percent, or $41.97 billion.
    • Real PCE on nondurable goods increased by 1.02 percent, or $36.18 billion.


  • The nominal personal savings rate decreased by 0.5 percentage points to 4.1 percent.


From August 2025 to August 2026:

  • Headline PCE price index inflation was 3.42 percent, which is higher than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent.
  • Core PCE price index inflation was 3.01 percent.



Income and savings


From July 2026 to August 2026:



Table 1. Income and Consumption Indicators

Aug 2026 Jul 2026 Chg. from Jul 2026
Income and outlays growth (m/m)
Real Disposable Personal Income -0.03% 0.31% -0.34pp
Real Personal Consumption Expenditures 0.55% 0.05% +0.50pp
Month-over-month PCE inflation
Headline 0.31% 0.05% +0.26pp
Core 0.25% 0.13% +0.12pp
Year-over-year PCE inflation
Headline 3.42% 3.36% +0.06pp
Core 3.01% 2.98% +0.03pp


Table 2. Cleveland Federal Reserve Forecast

Cleveland Fed forecast Actual Forecast error
Month-over-month PCE inflation
Headline 0.34% 0.31% +0.03pp
Core 0.27% 0.25% +0.02pp
Year-over-year PCE inflation
Headline 3.78% 3.42% +0.36pp
Core 3.40% 3.01% +0.39pp


Table 3. Personal Consumption Expenditures by category

Expenditure category Aug 2026 Jul 2026 Chg. from Jul 2026 Aug 2025 Chg. from Aug 2025
Housing and utilities $3,999.5B
(17.93%) 		$3,989.2B
(18.04%) 		+0.26%
(-0.11pp) 		$3,827.0B
(18.20%) 		+4.51%
(-0.27pp)
Health care $3,861.3B
(17.31%) 		$3,846.2B
(17.39%) 		+0.39%
(-0.08pp) 		$3,616.9B
(17.20%) 		+6.76%
(+0.11pp)
Financial services and insurance $1,795.9B
(8.05%) 		$1,787.4B
(8.08%) 		+0.48%
(-0.03pp) 		$1,668.9B
(7.94%) 		+7.61%
(+0.11pp)
Food services and accommodations $1,588.0B
(7.12%) 		$1,567.4B
(7.09%) 		+1.31%
(+0.03pp) 		$1,509.0B
(7.18%) 		+5.24%
(-0.06pp)
Food and beverages purchased for off-premises consumption $1,572.3B
(7.05%) 		$1,560.7B
(7.06%) 		+0.74%
(-0.01pp) 		$1,535.2B
(7.30%) 		+2.42%
(-0.25pp)
Motor vehicles and parts $814.9B
(3.65%) 		$794.8B
(3.59%) 		+2.53%
(+0.06pp) 		$759.2B
(3.61%) 		+7.34%
(+0.04pp)
Transportation services $769.0B
(3.45%) 		$756.4B
(3.42%) 		+1.66%
(+0.03pp) 		$707.0B
(3.36%) 		+8.77%
(+0.09pp)
Recreational goods and vehicles $767.2B
(3.44%) 		$750.2B
(3.39%) 		+2.27%
(+0.05pp) 		$705.1B
(3.35%) 		+8.82%
(+0.09pp)
Pharmaceutical and other medical products $756.2B
(3.39%) 		$748.2B
(3.38%) 		+1.07%
(+0.01pp) 		$741.0B
(3.52%) 		+2.06%
(-0.13pp)
Clothing and footwear $608.1B
(2.73%) 		$599.1B
(2.71%) 		+1.50%
(+0.02pp) 		$569.1B
(2.71%) 		+6.87%
(+0.02pp)
Furnishings and durable household equipment $536.6B
(2.41%) 		$530.1B
(2.40%) 		+1.23%
(+0.01pp) 		$506.7B
(2.41%) 		+5.90%
(-0.00pp)
Gasoline and other energy goods $503.9B
(2.26%) 		$483.0B
(2.18%) 		+4.32%
(+0.07pp) 		$407.8B
(1.94%) 		+23.55%
(+0.32pp)
Education services $373.3B
(1.67%) 		$371.6B
(1.68%) 		+0.47%
(-0.01pp) 		$366.4B
(1.74%) 		+1.87%
(-0.07pp)
Communication $330.2B
(1.48%) 		$324.2B
(1.47%) 		+1.87%
(+0.01pp) 		$319.0B
(1.52%) 		+3.53%
(-0.04pp)
All other expenditures $4,032.0B
(18.07%) 		$4,009.2B
(18.13%) 		+0.57%
(-0.05pp) 		$3,791.3B
(18.03%) 		+6.35%
(+0.05pp)

Note: Each month column shows the nominal dollar amount at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) for each expenditure category and its share of total expenditure in parentheses. In the gray “change” columns, the percent value indicates the change in the annualized dollar amount over the period, and the percentage-point value in parentheses indicates the change in that category’s share of total expenditure over the period.


Upcoming releases


Date Time Release Data source
Oct 02 08:30 AM Monthly Employment Update, September 2026 Bureau of Labor Statistics
Oct 06 08:30 AM Monthly Trade Update, August 2026 Bureau of Economic Analysis
Oct 07 10:00 AM Monthly Debt Update, October 2026 U.S. Treasury
Oct 14 08:30 AM Monthly Inflation Update, September 2026 Bureau of Labor Statistics
Oct 14 10:00 AM Monthly Fiscal Update, September 2026 U.S. Treasury
Oct 20 10:00 AM State Employment and Unemployment, September 2026 Bureau of Labor Statistics
Oct 29 08:30 AM Monthly Expenditures Update, September 2026 Bureau of Economic Analysis
Oct 29 08:30 AM Monthly GDP Update, Q3 2026 Advance Estimate Bureau of Economic Analysis


Notes


Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis; JEC Republicans calculations

“pp” = percentage points; “M/M” = month over month; “Y/Y” = year over year

Consistent with the Bureau of Economic Analysis, monthly figures are seasonally adjusted. Discrepancy in change figures is possible due to rounding.