Aggregate consumer debt fell again in the third quarter, by $74 billion, continuing the nearly four-year downward trend in household debt. As of September 30, 2012, total consumer indebtedness was $11.31 trillion, 0.7% lower than its level in the second quarter of 2012 and down $1.37 trillion from the 2008Q3 peak.

Non-mortgage consumer debt increased by 2.2% to $2.7 trillion. The increase was due to a boost in student loans ($42 billion), auto loans ($18 billion) and credit card balances ($2 billion).

Overall, delinquency rates improved slightly in 2012Q3. As of September 30, 9.0% of outstanding debt was in some stage of delinquency, compared with 9.1% in 2012Q2. About $1.01 trillion of debt is delinquent, with $740 billion seriously delinquent (at least 90 days late or “severely derogatory”).

Technical Notes
Data Dictionary