Economic Indicators

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two months of sharply rising prices have raised concerns that record-high government financial aid and the Federal Reserve’s ultra-low interest rate policies — when the economy is already surging — have elevated the risk of accelerating inflation.

A key inflation indicator that the Federal Reserve uses to set policy rose 3.4% in May, the fastest increase since the early 1990s.

Much of the money has probably left the country.

Inflation is finally here, at its highest level since the aftermath of the 2008 crisis:We don't know if it's going to last but wages are finally rising, there is a shortage of seemingly everyt

It's not what the pundits think. It's what the money guys are doing.

This issue explains how the output gap, the difference between potential and actual output, is useful for checking the health of the economy.

Which countries have the highest GDP per capita? This map breaks down the top 25 richest countries in the world.

The ebbing of the pandemic has brought price increases, supply bottlenecks and labor shortages. Key indicators will show whether it’s just a stage.

Many employers report having trouble finding applicants. Economists say the labor market may simply need time to get sorted out.

It's not just the loss of current income during the COVID crisis that will hurt millions of women financially, but also reduced future earnings and retirement benefits that will likely follow. As one economist put it, women may "eat the cost of the pandemic for the rest of their working lives."

The median PCE is a measure of inflation computed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. It ranks the components of inflation and picks the one in the middle as the measure of the longer-term trend in prices. Its construction makes it less sensitive to short-lived price fluctuations, thereby capturing the trend in prices. Released monthly.

The personal consumer expenditures price index is one of the Fed's favorite tools for tracking inflation.

Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Airline Fares in U.S. City Average

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week — the latest encouraging sign for the rebounding U.S. economy — just as Republican-led states are moving to cut off a federal benefit for the jobless.

The U.S. economy is strengthening quickly, although inflation is rising and a shortage of semiconductor chips has created a temporary headwind.

We provide explanations of basic and fundamental concepts on the definition of inflation, measurement of inflation, costs of inflation, the importance of measuring and controlling inflation, the role of the Federal Reserve in inflation, and other concepts such as price indexes, hyperinflation, trend and underlying inflation, measures of inflation like CPI, core CPI, median CPI, trimmed-mean CPI, PCE, core PCE, and trimmed-mean PCE.

Focus on exactly how and why prices are changing over time, and how these shifts might affect you.

Workers, after enduring a year of job losses, business closures and social distancing, are no longer interested in accepting low wages.

U.S. job growth unexpectedly slowed in April, likely curbed by shortages of workers and raw materials as rapidly improving public health and massive government aid fueled an economic boom.

The share of people working or looking for work edged higher last month — but it remains way below its level before the pandemic.

Hiring was a huge letdown in April, with nonfarm payrolls increasing by a much less than expected 266,000 and the unemployment rate rose to 6.1%.

Prices are rising fast, in ways that seem temporary, yet this could change expectations in ways that are self-reinforcing.

The Consumer Price Index rise for April from a year earlier was the sharpest since September 2008.

The increase in the Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index was well above forecasts. A top Fed official acknowledged the surprise but said, “This is one data point.”

There’s a good chance that you’ve been to your local grocery store or stopped by your favorite fast food location and noticed signs for hiring bonuses, but why aren't more workers signing up?

What Is potential GDP?

It's going Dow... and Wall Street yelled "timber" (thanks, Ke$ha). The industrials-heavy Dow index fell 1.4% yesterday, after closing last week...

Used car prices jumped 10% in April and accounted for more than a third of the monthly increase in consumer prices

Restaurant prices in the 19th century (followed by 20th, below) Note: Until the mid-19th century prices were often quoted in shillings and pence, or in Spanish dollars. One Spanish bit = 12½¢; One …