Data Wire

American workers are earning more. The question worth asking is whether that’s enough.

The unemployment rate dropped to 4.1% in July, the third straight month of improvement after stalling at 4.3% for three months earlier this year. That’s a small move in a big number, but the directio

The U.S. economy actually lost 23,000 jobs in July, the first monthly decline in total nonfarm payrolls in several years. That single print wiped out more jobs than were added in any one of the prior

The headline number is a small uptick. The real story is how far we’ve come from where we were.

The average interest rate the US government pays on its Treasury Notes rose to 3.309% in July, up from 3.283% in June. That’s a sixth consecutive monthly increase, and the rate is now 6.33% higher tha

The average interest rate the U.S. Treasury pays on its outstanding bonds hit 3.442% in July, up from 3.43% in June and 3.327% a year ago. That’s a 3.46% rise year over year. The monthly moves sound s

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate edged up to 6.69% this week, its fourth straight weekly increase and the highest reading since early June. That might sound like a rounding error, but zoom out: rates h

Productivity rose 2.24% over the past year, sitting at an index level of 120.017, and the quiet consistency of that number is exactly what makes it interesting. In an economy where inflation is runni

Jobless claims came in at 199,000 last week, up just 1,000 from the prior week’s 198,000. The real story isn’t the weekly tick. It’s where we’ve landed after weeks of choppiness: the labor market is t

The US national debt edged down to $39.74 trillion as of August 3, a $32 billion dip from the prior reading. Headline writers might call it progress. The more useful read: it’s a rounding error on a b

The 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 4.70% on August 3, down from 4.75% at the end of July. That’s a small move in absolute terms, but zoom out one week and something more interesting emerges: yields

Total hires climbed to 5.35 million in June, up from 5.25 million in May and nearly 4% above where they were a year ago. That’s a real move, and it runs against the narrative that the labor market is

Voluntary quits rose to 3.232 million in June, up 2.5% from May and 4.4% above where they stood a year ago. That’s the highest quit reading in this six-month stretch, and it lands at a moment when a l

Job openings fell 178,000 in June to 7.36 million, a 2.4% monthly decline. The headline looks like cooling. The context suggests something more nuanced.

The pump gave drivers a small break this week. The national average fell 1.7 cents to $4.079 per gallon, ending a six-week climb that carried prices from $3.78 in early July to just over $4.10. But zo