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Economic Indicators
Center for Inflation Research Update, October 2023
Inflation has a new victim: Girl Scout cookies
Many Girl Scout councils are raising the price of their popular cookies from $5 to $6 a box. The increase offers Girl Scouts and their customers a bittersweet lesson in inflation.
Social Security benefits will increase by 3.2% in 2024 as inflation moderates
The acting Social Security commissioner says a 3.2% increase in benefits next year “will help millions of people keep up with expenses." The increase announced Thursday is far less than this year’s historic boost and reflects moderating consumer prices.
What Is the Best Country in the World?
What is the best country in the world? Wharton's David Reibstein reveals his annual list for 2023, in which Switzerland takes the top spot.
Retirement Calculator with Inflation | National Life
Inflation can have a dramatic effect on purchasing power. Use this calculator to analyze the impact of inflation on any future retirement needs.
G. Dirk Mateer on X
“I love seeing photos like this one, which illustrate economic growth.”
Mapped: Unemployed Workers vs. Job Openings, by U.S. State
On average, there are 75 workers available for every 100 job openings across the country. Here's how it varies by state.
Consumer confidence jumps as inflation retreats, jobs abound
A breakout of better feelings about the economic situation is underway this summer.
Median CPI
U.S. leading indicators point to recession starting soon
An index designed to track turns in U.S. business cycles fell for the 15th straight month in June, dragged down by a weakening consumer outlook and increased unemployment claims, marking the longest streak of decreases since the lead-up to the 2007-2009 recession.
Visualized: The U.S. $20 Trillion Economy by State
How does each state contribute to America's overall GDP? This visualization breaks down the U.S. economy by state.
Inflation Tracker: What Costs Less—And What Remains Stubbornly Expensive
The Journal has put together a price tracker of common items that many Americans buy monthly to see the direction of prices that matter to you.
The Case for Declining Core Inflation (Hill)
Chartflation: Five Charts Showing Inflation Isn’t as ‘Sticky’ as Feared
Forward-looking indicators show inflation slowing more.
The Simple Mistake That Almost Triggered a Recession
Leading economists said we’d need higher unemployment to tame inflation. Here’s why they were wrong.
The misery index is falling fast
The falling economic discomfort measure could help President Biden's re-election bid.
The curious history of the Federal Reserve's 2% inflation targeting, explained
As the world shifts to a new post-pandemic normal, the inflation targets of central banks across the world have faced new scrutiny.
Domingo Germán Pitched a Perfect Game. Here's What That Means for the Dow.
Historically, the Dow has had very strong returns following perfect games. To be sure, that's due to correlation, not causation.
Is the Inflation Battle Won? Not Yet.
Inflation has come down from its 2022 heights, but economists are worried about its stubbornness.
UK's stubborn inflation fails to fall, turning up heat on BoE
British inflation defied predictions of a slowdown and held at 8.7% in May, putting yet more pressure on the Bank of England a day before it is expected to raise interest rates for the 13th time in a row.
What FedEx Earnings Tell Us About the Real Economy @themotleyfool #stocks $FDX $DIS $AAPL $UPS $NKE $ZM $PTON
This industrial bellwether showcases how inflation is affecting businesses.
Larry Summers Was Wrong About Inflation
The economist predicted that the Fed would need to push unemployment above 5 percent to contain price growth. Whoops.
Is the Unemployment Rate a Deceptive Statistic? | Peter Jacobsen
There is no perfect metric for employment as it relates to the health of the economy as a whole. Context is necessary for determining whether changes in these metrics are good or bad. People think of having less work as a bad thing but, over time, the number of hours worked has decreased pretty consistently over time. You can work less hours today for a better standard of living than people in the prior two centuries. In the context of the last century and a half as a whole, this is a good thing.
(20) Stephen Day @VCUEconEd on Twitter: "RT @NAEEnet: Where are you headed this summer? Check out this graph on the impact of travel and tourism on GDP across the world! #TeachEc…" / Twitter
Where are you headed this summer? Check out this graph on the impact of travel and tourism on GDP across the world! #TeachEcon pic.twitter.com/YX7krjsC4p— NAEEnet (@NAEEnet) May 31, 2023
Record inflation: Five ways Argentines try to cope
With inflation above 100%, Argentines have devised a number of strategies to deal with the crisis.
Argentina to Hike Rates in Bid to Stem Inflation Crisis
(Bloomberg) -- Argentina will unveil a set of emergency measures in a bid to stem additional currency losses, including a large increase to its key interest rate, as inflation spirals out of control in the run up to presidential elections, according to officials at the Economy Ministry and the central bank.Most Read from BloombergTurkey Latest: Erdogan Says Unclear If Vote Will Go to RunoffRemote Work Comes With Daytime Drug and Drinking HabitsTurkey Poised for Vote Runoff as Erdogan Ballots Fal
Jobs Calculator
The Jobs Calculator calculates the net employment change needed to achieve a target unemployment rate after a specified number of months. The user can adjust the target unemployment rate, the number of months, and the assumed labor force growth.
Employment_Worksheet_HiringTalent.docx
Worksheet – (Un)employment Related news articles: Small businesses face hiring challenges despite fears of recession (Forbes, February 28, 2023) and No matter the market, there's always a demand for great talent: Here's how to cultivate and keep it (Forbes, April 10, 2023) Summary: This workshee...
GDP_Worksheet_RecessionIndicators.docx
Worksheet – GDP Related news articles: Consumption, the biggest component of US GDP, looks fragile (Fxcm.com, April 2023) and Americans are flocking to movie theaters. Could it be a recession warning? (Quartz, April 21, 2023) Summary: This worksheet could be used for in-class or homework practice...