The decline was the biggest since April 2025 and a reversal from a 0.6% uptick the month before.
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The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday modestly downgraded its outlook for the world economy this year
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The state’s unemployment rate for Black workers stood at 5.9% in this year’s first quarter, according to an analysis of federal data by the Economic Policy Institute. The overall unemployment rate was 3.6%.
June’s figures suggest businesses remain wary of the economy’s health, with inflation at a three-year high and consumer confidence near post-pandemic lows.
Business investment surged, probably reflecting an investment boom in artificial intelligence. But consumer spending, which accounts for around 70% of U.S. economic activity, fell sharply.
The latest retail sales report underscores that spending has remained resilient so far this year despite rising prices.
The stock market’s recent run has contributed the most to the consolidation of wealth at the top, as well as rising real estate prices.
Average math scores for 9- and 13-year-olds remain lower than they were 10 years ago — a warning sign not only for schools, but also for the economy, according to some researchers.
Inflation crossed 4% for the first time in three years in May, exacerbating Americans’ pain at the pump.
Despite higher inflation, the job market appears to be improving, with hiring increasing to a healthy level in May.
U.S. consumers haven’t stopped spending money since the Iran war drove up fuel prices, but many shoppers are reassessing what they buy and where, according to company executives and retail analysts.
The Labor Department’s April report showed the highest number of openings since May 2024.
As costs continue to rise at an uncomfortable rate, even well-off households are struggling to maintain their basic lifestyles. Have we normalized overconsumption?
U.S. consumer confidence declined slightly this month as gas prices stayed high and inflation remained elevated.
The gains came even though fighting continued in the region, and the U.S. military said it carried out “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran, including on missile launch sites and boats placing mines.
Excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called consumer core prices rose 2.8% from April 2025, a relatively modest reading that suggest the energy price burst has yet to spill over more broadly into other prices.
Nearly half of American business economists who responded to a survey by the National Association for Business Economics say that the conflict has negatively impacted their operations.
The recent uptick in hiring raises hopes that the job market will break out of a recent rut – in which Americans who have jobs are relatively secure from layoffs but jobseekers struggle to find work.
International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol painted a sobering picture of the global repercussions of what he called “the largest energy crisis we have ever faced,” stemming from the pinch-off of oil, gas and other vital supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.
The latest number was marked down from the Commerce Department’s previous estimate of 0.7% fourth-quarter growth.
Stalled tanker traffic at the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted the global oil market, and stock investors have yo-yoed along with mixed signals from Washington, D.C.
The report showed signs that employers had begun to regain confidence in stable business conditions following the volatile policy swings of the first year of the second Trump administration.
