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Econ News You Can Use
Category: Uncategorized
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics is getting back on track with their monthly jobs reports after the government shutdown ended in November. Unfortunately, the labor market data is not allowing them to deliver good news in time for Christmas this year. Today’s data release estimates an unemployment rate of 4.6%, up from 4% at the…
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I just came across a cool new paper in which the authors analyze the color palettes of paintings to learn more about the economic growth when the paintings were created. They can actually see strong correlations between economic growth and paint colors. But even more, they use color data to uncover more about actual economic…
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Driving across southern Spain recently I was caught off guard by the sheer number of olive groves all over the Spanish mountains. It is much like driving through cornfields in midwestern USA. But these olive trees are built different: they grow all over the sides of rocky mountains and in arid conditions. If you visit…
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The latest Consumer Price Index data release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows prices rose 0.3% in September, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 3.0% — roughly flat compared to August’s 2.9%. In other words, inflation’s not racing downhill anymore, but it’s also not climbing like it did in 2022. Gasoline once again stole…
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New data released by the BEA yesterday indicates that the U.S. economy is growing at a rapid clip. The first (advance) estimate of real GDP growth in the third quarter of 2023 is 4.9 percent. The graphic below shows quarterly real GDP growth since the beginning of 2021. The growth estimate for our most recent…
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Today's jobs report brings some good news but also some sobering reality. First the good: the unemployment rate remains near its fifty-year low, coming in at just 3.6% for June. The graph below shows the U.S. unemployment rate. Part of the reason the unemployment rate is so low is that the labor force participation rate…
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The U.S. economy continues to climb out of the COVID-induced recession of 2020. The latest GDP data, released yesterday by the BEA, revised the real GDP growth estimate for the second quarter up to 6.7%. In normal times, 6.7% real GDP growth is phenomenal. But now, 6.7% doesn't even get us all the way back…
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Are you wondering how to think about this COVID-19 crisis in terms of economics? You've come to the right place. The Mateer and Coppock textbooks present relevant information for life, and this pandemic crisis is no exception. If you are a teacher or student of economics and you are using our books, we have prepared…
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The BEA released the first estimate of 2019 GDP yesterday. The headline number is fourth quarter real GDP growth, which came in at 2.1 percent. This made the estimate of real GDP growth for all of 2019 just 2.3 percent. Now, 2.3 is not terrible, but given the low low low unemployment rate of 3.5%,…
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Real GDP grew by 1.9 percent in the third quarter of 2019, according to the report released by the BEA on October 30. This follows a 2.0% increase in the second quarter. Keep in mind, this is the first ("advance") estimate of third quarter data, and will be revised later. Consumption alone accounted for the…
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