Consumer Price Index inches higher
The Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% in August for an annual inflation rate of 2.9%, inching away from the Federal Reserve's goal of a steady 2%.
Shelter costs rose 3.6% compared to last year and were the largest factor in the monthly increases on all of the items the index follows, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday. The food index rose 0.4%, while energy costs went up 0.7%.
Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, said middle-class Americans are taking the brunt of the tariffs.
"It’s troubling that so many basic necessities now cost more," she said in a statement. "Food, gas, clothing and shelter all had big cost jumps in August. And this is only the beginning of the price hikes. The situation will worsen in the coming months as more costs are passed along to American consumers."
President Donald Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs are a means to put pressure on countries deemed to be engaging in activity that threatens the security or economy of the United States.
Jobless claims rise
American workers filed 263,000 initial claims for unemployment benefits for the week ending Sept. 6 — marking the highest level since Oct. 23, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday.
It also marks a 27,000-claim rise from the week prior, including a revision that cut 1,000 from the Sept. 4 count, the Labor Department said. The states that saw the largest increase in new jobless claims during the previous week were Tennessee (2,870), Connecticut (2,270), New York (1,683), Illinois (1,331) and California (982), while the largest decreases were in Kentucky (down 2,833), Pennsylvania (down 504), Florida (down 456), Texas (down 402) and Arizona (329).
Long, the chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, said the jobless claims numbers signal rough terrain ahead for U.S. workers.
"Cost cutting is back among CEOs, and that is corporate speak for more layoffs," she said in a social media post.
Raises will likely remain steady next year, survey suggests
U.S. corporations are planning to set aside roughly the same amount of money for raises in 2026 as they did this year, according to a survey from the Conference Board.
Companies are planning to increase their salary budgets by 3.4% on average in 2026, the survey indicated, the same as they initially reported for 2025. The survey — conducted between May 19 and June 20 — generated responses from more than 460 U.S. employers, the nonprofit Conference Board think tank said.
The survey results also suggested that companies — particularly those in the tech sector — are scaling back their sign-on and retention bonuses.
"With turnover slowing, companies are getting more strategic about where their salary dollars go," Diana Scott, the board's U.S. human capital center leader, said in a statement. "Rather than spreading increases across the board, they’re channeling budgets into roles and skills that really move the needle."
Mitchell Barnes, board economist, said in the statement that today's labor market "is one of recalibration, not retreat."
"Companies are rebalancing their workforce and labor strategies — slowing overall headcount growth, targeting high-value skills and investing in technology and training — to sustain productivity in a slower but still competitive labor market," Barnes said.