Gwynn Guilford

December Inflation Report to Show Whether Price Increases Continued to Moderate

The CPI measures what consumers pay for goods and services. The Labor Department is scheduled to release its December report at 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday. Core CPI, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, climbed 6% in November from a year…

Laid Off Tech Workers Quickly Find New Jobs

Most laid off tech workers are finding jobs shortly after beginning their search, a new survey shows, as employers continue to scoop up workers in a tight labor market. About 79% of workers recently hired after a tech-company layoff or termination…

Baking Supplies Cost a Lot More This Year. So Did Flying. But That Flat-Screen TV Got Cheaper.

The disparate price changes among the hundreds of products and services tracked by the Labor Department show inflation’s highly uneven reach in 2022. The consumer-price index, a measurement of what Americans pay for goods and services, climbed 9.1%…

CPI Report Shows U.S. Inflation Eased in November

Consumer prices rose last month at the slowest 12-month pace since December 2021, closing out a year in which inflation hit the highest level in four decades and challenged the Federal Reserve’s ability to keep the U.S. economy on track. The Labor…

Housing Costs, Inflation’s Biggest Component, Are Poised to Ease

The end is in sight for one of the biggest sources of inflation. Surging housing costs helped keep inflation high this year but have likely already swung into reverse, economists say. The signal comes from private-sector indexes of rents on new…

Jobless Claims Rise But Remain Near Prepandemic Lows

Filings for U.S. unemployment benefits increased last week but stayed relatively low, the latest sign that the labor market remains on solid ground. Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, increased by 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 240,000…

U.S. Supplier Price Increases Eased in October, Taking Pressure Off Inflation

Consumer price increases also eased last month, the Labor Department said last week. The consumer-price index rose 7.7% in October from the same month a year ago, down from 8.2% in September and June’s 9.1% rate, which was the highest in four…

Inflation Report Leaves Fed on Track for 0.5-Point Rate Rise in December

Inflation eased last month to the slowest pace since January but remained high, which could keep Federal Reserve officials on track to start slowing the pace of interest-rate rises aimed at taming price pressures. The Labor Department on Thursday…

October Inflation Report Shows Consumer Prices Rose 7.7% From Year Earlier

Inflation eased in October as underlying price increases excluding energy and food slowed from a four-decade high. The Labor Department on Thursday said that its consumer-price index increased 7.7% in October from the same month a year ago, the…

Covid’s Drag on the Workforce Proves Persistent. ‘It Sets Us Back.’

Two-and-a-half years after Covid-19 emerged, reported infections are way down, pandemic restrictions are practically gone and life in many respects is approaching normal. The labor force, however, is not. Researchers say the virus is having a…

Health-Insurance Inflation Is Poised to Drop Sharply

Health insurance has put upward pressure on the main measure of inflation, but is now swinging into reverse. This swing will act as a much-needed, albeit small, drag on inflation currently running at four-decade highs, economists say. “With the…

Inflation Sits at 8.2% as Core Prices Hit Four-Decade High

The inflation report likely keeps the Federal Reserve on track to increase interest rates by 0.75 percentage point at its meeting next month. It also raises the risk officials will delay an anticipated slowdown in the pace of rate rises after that or…

Underlying Inflation Gained Steam in August

Pace of consumer-price gains remained near a four-decade high, according to the Fed’s preferred measure Overall inflation slowed in August, measured by the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge, but underlying price pressures strengthened last month,…

New Data Show Broad Shift to Remote Work During Pandemic

Fewer people drove alone to work or took public transit as habits changed The number of Americans working remotely more than tripled in 2021 from 2019, according to new federal data, and the trend shows signs of persisting this year. In 2021, 27.6…

U.S. Inflation Remained High in August

Consumer prices excluding food, energy rose sharply, showing broad price pressures strengthened U.S. consumer prices overall rose more slowly in August from a year earlier, but increased sharply from the prior month after excluding volatile food and…

Covid-19 Illnesses Are Keeping at Least 500,000 Workers Out of U.S. Labor Force, Study Says

Virus will weigh on workforce if infection rates continue, authors predict Illness caused by Covid-19 shrank the U.S. labor force by around 500,000 people, a hit that is likely to continue if the virus continues to sicken workers at current rates,…

A Slowing China Helps Rein In Inflation Around the World

China is a key factor in falling costs for energy and commodities, but domestic factors are still keeping U.S. inflation high A global slowdown, in particular in China, is taking the edge off inflation pressures, especially for key imports and…

Inflation Eased in July, According to the Fed’s Preferred Measure

Pace of consumer price gains slowed, though it stayed near a four-decade high Inflation decelerated in July, measured by the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge, though it remained close to its fastest pace since 1982. Consumer prices rose 6.3% in July…

Labor Shortage Is Vexing Challenge for U.S. Economy

Supply of available workers is headed in wrong direction as Federal Reserve strives to cool labor market and bring down high inflation As anyone who has lost luggage or waited half an hour for a restaurant check can tell you, America needs way more…

U.S. Inflation Eased Slightly to 8.5% in July

Annual rate decelerated from four-decade high, as costs of energy, gasoline dropped The pace of price increases slowed in July as energy costs dropped, pulling annual U.S. inflation down slightly from a four-decade high. The Labor Department on…