| Headline CPI inflation (YoY) | 2.9% [424] | 3.0% [425] | 3.4% (August 2026) [426] | +0.4 percentage points | Overall consumer-price inflation was higher than in January 2025. | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Consumer Price Index → |
| Core CPI inflation (YoY) | 3.2% [424] | 3.3% [425] | 2.4% (August 2026) [426] | -0.9 percentage points | Inflation excluding food and energy was lower than in January 2025. | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Consumer Price Index → |
| Headline PCE inflation (YoY) | 2.6% [427] | 2.5% [428] | 3.7% (July 2026) [429] | +1.2 percentage points | PCE inflation was higher than in January 2025. | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Personal Income and Outlays → |
| Core PCE inflation (YoY) | 2.8% [427] | 2.6% [428] | 3.3% (July 2026) [429] | +0.7 percentage points | PCE inflation excluding food and energy was higher than in January 2025. | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Personal Income and Outlays → |
| Unemployment rate | 4.1% [430] | 4.0% [431] | 4.1% (August 2026) [432] | +0.1 percentage points | The unemployment rate was close to its January 2025 level. | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Employment Situation → |
| Labor-force participation rate | 62.5% [430] | 62.6% [431] | 61.6% (August 2026) [432] | -1.0 percentage point | A smaller share of the civilian noninstitutional population was working or actively looking for work. | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Employment Situation → |
| Employment-population ratio | 60.0% [430] | 60.1% [431] | 59.1% (August 2026) [432] | -1.0 percentage point | The share of the civilian noninstitutional population that was employed was lower. | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Employment Situation → |
| Total nonfarm payroll employment | See revised BLS series [457] | 158.268 million [457] | 159.075 million (August 2026) [432] | +807,000 jobs | Total payroll employment was higher than the revised January 2025 level, although payroll estimates are subject to benchmark revisions. | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Current Employment Statistics → |
| Monthly payroll employment change | Historical estimate revised [457] | -48,000, revised [457] | +162,000 (August 2026) [432] | Not a trend measure | January 2025 payroll growth was revised substantially from the estimate originally reported at the time. Individual monthly changes should not be used alone to characterize the labor-market trend. | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — CES Benchmark Revision → |
| Real average hourly earnings (YoY) | +1.0% [433] | +1.0% [434] | -0.3% (August 2026) [435] | -1.3 percentage points | Inflation-adjusted average hourly earnings were falling year over year in August 2026 rather than rising as they had around the beginning of 2025. | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Real Earnings → |
| Personal saving rate | 3.8% [427] | 4.6% [428] | 3.0% (July 2026) [429] | -1.6 percentage points | Households were saving a smaller share of disposable personal income than in January 2025. | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Personal Income and Outlays → |
| Real GDP growth | +2.4% annualized (Q4 2024) [436] | -0.6% annualized (Q1 2025) [461] | +1.5% annualized (Q2 2026) [437] | Quarterly growth returned positive | Real GDP was expanding in Q2 2026. GDP is quarterly, so Q1 2025 is shown as the nearest post-January quarter rather than as a January observation. | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Gross Domestic Product → |
| Real GDI growth | +4.5% annualized (Q4 2024) [436] | Quarterly series | +2.2% annualized (Q2 2026) [437] | Not directly comparable to a January observation | Gross domestic income was increasing in the latest quarter, although at a slower rate than the Q4 2024 estimate shown here. | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — GDP and GDI → |
| Manufacturing PMI | 49.2, seasonally adjusted [462] | 50.9 [462] | 54.6 (August 2026) [440] | +3.7 points | The manufacturing survey moved further above the 50-point threshold that separates expansion from contraction. The December 2024 reading is shown here as 49.2, the seasonally adjusted figure used for current comparison in the January 2025 ISM report; ISM originally reported December 2024 at 49.3 [442]. | Institute for Supply Management — Manufacturing PMI → |
| Services PMI | 54.0 [443] | 52.8 [444] | 55.4 (August 2026) [441] | +2.6 points | The services survey indicated a faster rate of expansion than in January 2025. | Institute for Supply Management — Services PMI → |
| Services employment index | 51.3 [443] | 52.3 [444] | 47.8 (August 2026) [441] | -4.5 points | The services employment index moved from above 50 to below 50, indicating contraction in the survey's employment component. | Institute for Supply Management — Services PMI → |
| Services prices index | 64.4 [443] | 60.4 [444] | 72.6 (August 2026) [441] | +12.2 points | Services businesses reported substantially stronger price pressures than in January 2025. | Institute for Supply Management — Services PMI → |
| Industrial production index (2017=100) | 100.3, current vintage [455] | 100.1, current vintage [455] | 103.1 (August 2026) [455] | +3.0% | Total industrial output was above both the December 2024 and January 2025 levels. December 2024 and January 2025 figures here are the revised current-vintage values from the August 2026 G.17 release, used so all three columns are on a consistent revision basis; the values originally reported at the time are documented separately in [438] (December 2024) and [439] (January 2025) and are not repeated here. | Federal Reserve — Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization → |
| Industrial capacity utilization | 75.9%, current vintage [455] | 75.6%, current vintage [455] | 76.3% (August 2026) [455] | +0.7 percentage points | Industrial capacity utilization was modestly above its January 2025 level. December 2024 and January 2025 figures here are current-vintage values from the August 2026 G.17 release, for consistency with the August 2026 column; the originally reported December 2024 and January 2025 rates are documented separately in [438] and [439] and are not repeated here. | Federal Reserve — Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization → |
| Consumer Confidence Index | 109.5 [445] | 104.1 [445] | 89.4 (August 2026) [456] | -14.7 points | Consumer confidence was substantially lower than in January 2025. | The Conference Board — Consumer Confidence → |
| Consumer Expectations Index | 86.5 [445] | 83.9 [445] | 68.2 (August 2026) [456] | -15.7 points | Consumers' expectations for future economic conditions were substantially lower. | The Conference Board — Consumer Confidence → |
| Retail and food-services sales | $730.3 billion (December 2024, revised in January release) [446] | $723.9 billion (January 2025 initial estimate) [446] | $773.9 billion (August 2026) [460] | +6.9% from January 2025 | Nominal retail and food-services sales were higher. These figures are not adjusted for inflation, so the increase should not be interpreted as an equal increase in the quantity of goods and services purchased. | U.S. Census Bureau — Monthly Retail Trade → |
| Housing starts | 1.514 million SAAR (December 2024, revised) [447] | 1.358 million SAAR (January 2025, revised) [459] | 1.275 million SAAR (August 2026) [459] | -6.1% from January 2025 | The annualized pace of new residential construction starts was below both the December 2024 and January 2025 levels. | U.S. Census Bureau and HUD — New Residential Construction → |
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate | 6.85% (December 26, 2024) [448] | 6.95% (January 30, 2025) [448] | 6.95% (September 17, 2026) [448] | No change from January reference week | The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was essentially the same as the late-January 2025 reference rate. | Freddie Mac — Primary Mortgage Market Survey → |
| Regular gasoline — calculated monthly average | $3.018 per gallon (December 2024) [449] | $3.076 per gallon (January 2025) [449] | $4.058 per gallon (August 2026) [449] | +$0.983 per gallon (+32.0%) | The average U.S. regular gasoline price was substantially higher than in January 2025. EIA publishes this series weekly; the monthly figures shown here are calculated monthly averages of the underlying weekly EIA observations, not monthly figures EIA itself publishes. | U.S. Energy Information Administration — Weekly U.S. Regular Gasoline Prices → |
| On-highway diesel — calculated monthly average | $3.494 per gallon (December 2024) [450] | $3.634 per gallon (January 2025) [450] | $5.462 per gallon (August 2026) [450] | +$1.828 per gallon (+50.3%) | The average U.S. on-highway diesel price was substantially higher than in January 2025. EIA publishes this series weekly; the monthly figures shown here are calculated monthly averages of the underlying weekly EIA observations, not monthly figures EIA itself publishes. | U.S. Energy Information Administration — Weekly U.S. Diesel Prices → |