Economy

CNBC reports: Shoppers paid sharply higher prices for a variety of goods in June as inflation kept its hold on a slowing U.S. economy, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. The consumer price index, a broad measure of everyday goods and services, soared 9.1% from a year ago, above the 8.8% Dow Jones estimate. That marked another month of …

CNBC reports: Job growth accelerated at a much faster pace than expected in June, indicating that the main pillar of the U.S. economy remains strong despite pockets of weakness. The unemployment rate was 3.6%, unchanged from May and in line with estimates. Nonfarm payrolls increased 372,000 in the month, better than the 250,000 Dow Jones estimate and continuing what has …

The Washington Post reports: U.S. employers added 428,000 jobs in April, capping a year of solid growth, adding more fuel to an already robust recovery. The unemployment rate remained steady at a pandemic low of 3.6 percent, the Labor Department said Friday. The labor market has added more than 6.5 million jobs during the past year and is on pace …

The Kansas City Star reports: On Monday, a Johnson County city unanimously voted to ban a living arrangement aimed at helping tenants decrease the amount of rent they pay. The Shawnee City Council voted 8-0 to ban co-living, which has gained popularity in recent years as rent and home prices have soared. The new ordinance defines a co-living group as …

Politico reports: State Attorney General Tish James is launching an investigation into whether oil companies are taking advantage of inflation and the Russian invasion in Ukraine to jack up prices. “Soaring gas prices are forcing working New Yorkers and low-income families to make difficult decisions on whether to pay bills or put food on the table,” James said Wednesday in …

The Washington Post reports: Prices rose 8.5 percent in March compared with a year ago, the largest annual increase in four decades, as Russia’s war in Ukraine drove up energy prices even higher and policymakers launched a major effort to get soaring inflation under control. The inflation data, released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showed prices rose 1.2 …

The BBC reports: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has proposed a two-year ban on some foreigners buying homes. The measure comes as the country grapples with some of the worst housing affordability issues in the world. Prices have jumped more than 20%, pushing the average home in Canada to nearly C$817,000 ($650,000; £495,000) – more than nine times household income. …

CNBC reports: The labor market tightened further last week, with initial jobless claims falling to their lowest level in more than 53 years, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Initial filings for unemployment dropped to 166,000, well below the Dow Jones estimate of 200,000 and 5,000 under the previous week’s total, which was revised sharply lower. The total of those receiving …

Bloomberg News reports: The “pizza principle,” a mainstay of New York economics for more than four decades, states that a slice of cheese pizza will always be the same price as a subway ride. The rule has largely held true since first conjectured in the New York Times in 1980, with any increase in pizza prices tending to predict a …

The Associated Press reports: America’s employers extended a streak of robust hiring in March, adding 431,000 jobs in a sign of the economy’s resilience in the face of a still-destructive pandemic and the highest inflation in 40 years. The Labor Department’s report Friday showed that last month’s job growth helped reduce the unemployment rate to 3.6%, the lowest level since …

Reuters reports: The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week as demand for labor remained strong, positioning the economy for another month of solid job gains. Unemployment benefit rolls were the smallest in 52 years in early March, the Labor Department’s weekly jobless claims report on Thursday also showed. Signs of the economy’s underlying strength …

The Washington Post reports: Prices rose 7.9 percent in February compared with a year ago, the largest annual increase in 40 years, even as fears grow that Russia’s war on Ukraine will push energy prices even higher in the months to come. The inflation data, released Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showed prices rose 0.8 percent in February …

CNBC reports: Job growth accelerated in February, posting its biggest monthly gain since July as the employment picture got closer to its pre-pandemic self. Nonfarm payrolls for the month grew by 678,000 and the unemployment rate was 3.8%, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. In a sign that inflation could be cooling, wages barely rose for the …

Bloomberg News reports: U.S. employers added more jobs than forecast last month, despite a surge in Covid-19 infections and related business closures. Nonfarm payrolls increased 467,000 in January after an upwardly revised 510,000 gain in December, a Labor Department report showed Friday. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4%, and average hourly earnings jumped. In a surprise display of strength, …

The Washington Post reports: The U.S. economy grew 5.7 percent in 2021, the fastest full-year clip since 1984, roaring back in the pandemic’s second year despite two new virus variants that rocked the United States. The economy grew 6.9 percent from October to December, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said Thursday, a sharp acceleration from the 2.3 percent it grew …

ABC News reports: Employers added a lackluster 199,000 jobs last month — significantly lower than economists’ expectations — and the unemployment rate fell to 3.9%, the Department of Labor said Friday. Hiring in December was even less than the revised figure for the previous month, when 249,000 jobs were added to the economy in November. The stalled job growth comes …

ABC News reports: The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell below 200,000, more evidence that the job market remains strong in the aftermath of last year’s coronavirus recession. Jobless claims dropped by 8,000 to 198,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, fell to just above 199,000, lowest level since October 1969. …

The Associated Press reports: Holiday sales rose at the fastest pace in 17 years, even as shoppers grappled with higher prices, product shortages and a raging new Covid-19 variant in the last few weeks of the season, according to one spending measure. Mastercard Spending Pulse, which tracks all kinds of payments including cash and debit cards, reported Sunday that holiday …

CNN reports: Senator Joe Manchin’s opposition to the Build Back Better Act prompted Goldman Sachs to swiftly dim its US economic outlook. The Wall Street firm told clients Sunday it no longer assumes President Joe Biden’s signature legislation will get through the narrowly divided Congress, citing the West Virginia Democrat’s announcement that he’s a “no” on the $1.75 trillion bill. …

The Associated Press reports: The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week despite signs that the U.S. labor market is rebounding from last year’s coronavirus recession. Jobless claims rose by 18,000 to a 206,000, still low by historical standards. The four-week average, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, fell by 16,000 to less than 204,000, the lowest level …