Along with Thursday’s GDP report, the Department of Commerce offered an important clue to answering one of the biggest questions hanging over the U.S. economy: How quickly U.S. consumers can shed their onerous debts and get into a position to spend again.

In a table buried deep in its Web site, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that U.S. households’ annualized mortgage payments fell by more than $10 billion in the third quarter from the second, a decline of about 1.5%. In all, they had fallen an annualized $35.7 billion from their peak in the first quarter of 2008.

The data reflect two trends. For one, with the Federal Reserve holding short-term interest rates near zero, the wave of pain wrought by payment resets on floating-rate mortgage loans may have largely passed. Beyond that, an increasing share of mortgage holders has stopped making payments on loans. The official data are just starting to pick up the effect of those defaults, because the debt isn’t erased until the lender has foreclosed, sold the house and charged off the loan.

Mortgage debt is by far the largest portion of household debt, so the decline in payments will likely have a large effect on one of the most widely-watched indicators of U.S. consumers’ indebtedness — the financial obligation ratio, which measures payments on mortgages, credit cards and rent as a share of disposable income. And if the growing ranks of delinquent mortgage holders are any indication, the finances of U.S. households will be even better in quarters to come.

None of that, of course, means that people will be heading straight for the mall. Many have lost their homes, their jobs and much of their savings. But for those who have gotten out from under onerous loans, it will be a bit easier to live within their means.

Related article: Household Debt Can Hasten Recovery