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Economic data

Economic Pulse

Why data on the economy doesn't match our feelings

by David Brancaccio and Ariana Rosas
Mar 10, 2025
Data doesn't always show a full picture. Example: Functional unemployment was 23.3% in January — very different than the 4% headline figure.
"[Net] wages haven't increased over the last 20 years" for middle- and low-income Americans, said Gene Ludwig. "For 60% of America, they've actually declined or been stagnant."
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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Experts worry about degradation of economic data after advisory committees disbanded

by Caleigh Wells
Mar 5, 2025
The two groups, which existed for decades, gave expert advice to federal data scientists and played a role in government transparency.
"You don’t fulfill an ongoing mission by canceling this communication mechanism," said former advisory committee member Erica Groshen.
Annabelle Gordon/The Washington Post via Getty Images
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Recent economic data made murky by ups and downs of real world

by Justin Ho
Jan 20, 2025
Tariffs, major weather events and even political bias have obscured trends and challenged experts to figure out the takeaways.
Factors like unusually destructive weather events and the presidential election have muddied economic reports in the past few months.
Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images
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What female entrepreneurs of the 19th century can teach us about the modern economy

by Kristin Schwab and Maria Hollenhorst
Aug 7, 2024
Economic researcher Ruveyda Nur Gozen analyzed 3,589 women-owned manufacturing businesses from the 1800s.
"Women entrepreneurs or [manufacturing] business owners hired more women compared to their male counterparts" in the 19th century, said research economist Ruveyda Nur Gozen.
Boston Public Library via Wikimedia Commons
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Productivity growth beats forecasts in second quarter

by Elizabeth Trovall
Aug 1, 2024
Real wages also grew. To some extent, productivity growth offsets the inflationary effect of pay gains.
Because productivity grew alongside wages, economists aren't concerned about a wage-price spiral.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
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Economic data is looking good. So why the glum vibes?

by Stacey Vanek Smith
Jun 25, 2024
Unemployment is near record lows, GDP is growing, inflation has been trending down, wages are up. But in spite of it all, people are feeling bad.
One reason for all the economic angst? A very positive reference point from earlier in the pandemic might make some consumers feel like nothing will compare.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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Like the Fed, corporations also eagerly await economic data

by Justin Ho
May 22, 2024
This year, bigger-than-expected inflation reports are playing a role in determining when companies decide to borrow money by issuing bonds.
"A company is not going to come to market with a new bond deal unless they feel reasonably confident that that bond deal is going to go pretty well," says Winnie Cisar with CreditSights. Above, traders on the New York Stock Exchange floor.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
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The federal government's inflation measures can feel ... wrong. How accurate are they?

by Nancy Marshall-Genzer
Apr 30, 2024
CPI and PCE can both seem to be out of step with consumers' experience.
The CPI and PCE each have their own basket of goods and services they keep an eye on to determine how inflation is doing.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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When will rates go down? The answer rests on conflicting economic data.

by Sabri Ben-Achour
Apr 4, 2024
The numbers are sending positive and negative signs, making the future of inflation, and the timing of Fed interest rate cuts, uncertain.
The numbers paint a mixed picture of the economy, so Federal Reserve officials seem to be waiting for clarity.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
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The Fed loves a data buffet. What's on the menu these days?

by Justin Ho
Mar 20, 2024
Beyond government reports on inflation and jobs, it examines bank and payment processor data along with factory output, credit and rents.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell leaves a news conference. "I like to refer to the Federal Reserve as the Hoover vacuum of data," says former Fed economist Claudia Sahm.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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