Economy in Brief

Initial claims jobless insurance rose to 215,000 during the week ended July 27 and made up most of the prior week's decline to 207,000, revised from 206,000. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected 214,000 initial claims. The [...]

The employment cost index (ECI) for civilian workers rose 0.6% q/q in 2019 Q1, down slightly from a 0.7% quarterly rise in Q1. This was the slowest pace of compensation gains since 2017 Q4. The increase was slightly below expectations [...]

The Federal Reserve lowered the target for the Fed Funds rate by 25 basis points to a range of 2.00% to 2.25%. The cut followed nine increases from a low just above zero at the end of 2015. The action was expected in the Action [...]

Euro area GDP slowed in Q2 to a Q/Q pace of less than 1%. Year-over-year growth in the EMU, at 1.1%, is the weakest since Q4 2013. And EMU inflation in July is the lowest it has been year-over-year since late-2016. This combination is [...]

The Chicago Business Barometer fell to 44.4 during July from an unrevised 49.7 in June. It was the lowest reading since December 2015. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected a reading of 51.3. The Chicago Purchasing Managers [...]

Hiring in the private sector continued its recent upward trend this month. The ADP National Employment Report indicated that private nonfarm payrolls increased 156,000 (1.7% y/y) during July following a 112,000 June rise, revised from [...]

The employment cost index (ECI) for civilian workers rose 0.6% q/q in 2019 Q2, down slightly from a 0.7% quarterly rise in Q1. This was the slowest pace of compensation gains since 2017 Q4. The increase was slightly below expectations [...]

The pump price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. fell again in the week ended July 29 to $2.72 (-4.6% y/y) from $2.75 the previous week. This is the lowest price in five weeks. Haver Analytics calculates a series which is [...]