Daily briefing · August 17, 2026

Today's Economic Brief

The latest official readings show consumer-price growth at 3.5%, unemployment at 4.1%, annualized real GDP growth at 1.5%. New releases and revisions can change that picture.

What changed

FRED Blog · Aug 17, 2026

State minimum wages and cost of living

The takeaway The federal minimum wage is the lowest hourly rate employers are required to pay workers. It’s been $7.25 per hour for a while now. State minimum wages are a different story: Many are higher than the federal minimu...

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Cleveland Fed · Aug 17, 2026

Understanding the Motivations for Business Participation in Voluntary Web-Based Business Surveys

Cleveland and Richmond Fed researchers analyze survey participation motivations to help tailor engagement strategies that strengthen relationships with businesses.

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BLS · Aug 14, 2026

Major Economic Indicators Latest Numbers

Consumer Price Index (CPI): +0.1% in Jul 2026 News Release Historical Data Unemployment Rate: 4.1% in Jul 2026 News Release Historical Data Payroll Employment: -23,000(p) in Jul 2026 News Release Historical Data Average Hourly...

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Why it matters

Consumer-price growth is 3.5%, up 0.8 percentage points from Jun 2025.
Unemployment rate is 4.1%, little changed from Jun 2025.
Federal funds rate is 3.63%, down 0.7 percentage points from Aug 2025.

These comparisons describe published observations; they do not assign causes.

What comes next

Tue, Aug 18 at 8:30 AM ETU.S. Import and Export Price IndexesBLS
Thu, Aug 20 at 10:00 AM ETSummer Youth Labor ForceBLS
Fri, Aug 21 at 10:00 AM ETState Employment and Unemployment (Monthly)BLS
Wed, Aug 26 at 8:30 AM ETGDP (Second Estimate) and Corporate Profits, 2nd Quarter 2026BEA
Wed, Aug 26 at 8:30 AM ETPersonal Income and Outlays, July 2026 BEA