Daily briefing · August 31, 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 31, 2026

Is this a good time to rent?

The takeaway The most recent measure of the cost of owning a home (vs. renting a home) remains near historical peaks, suggesting renting today is a relatively better financial choice for housing. To own or not to own? Which is...

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Cleveland Fed · Aug 31, 2026

How Do Monetary Policy Surprises Affect Household Sentiment?

Positive monetary policy surprises boost consumer sentiment when inflation is low but depress it when high, suggesting economic environment shapes how households interpret Fed actions.

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BLS · Aug 28, 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, Sep 1 at 10:00 AM ETJob Openings and Labor Turnover SurveyBLS
Wed, Sep 2 at 10:00 AM ETMetropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment (Monthly)BLS
Thu, Sep 3 at 8:30 AM ETProductivity and CostsBLS
Thu, Sep 3 at 8:30 AM ETU.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, July 2026BEA
Fri, Sep 4 at 8:30 AM ETEmployment SituationBLS