Deloitte Consumer Spending Index Ticks Downward in August

Highlights of the Index include:

Tax Burden: The tax rate is up 6.4 percent from last year, and is now at 11.8 percent.

Initial Unemployment Claims: Claims moved down 7.8 percent from the same period last year to 342,000 in the most recent month.

Real Wages: Hourly real wages are down slightly from the previous month, but up 0.2 percent from last year.

Real New Home Prices: Real new home prices climbed 7.9 percent from this time last year to reach approximately $110,000.