Job growth in the US slowed again in June, with only 18,000 total payroll jobs added. Private sector job growth of 57,000 was offset by a loss of 39,000 government jobs. The unemployment rate edged up to 9.2%, its highest since December 2010, as 173,000 more people became unemployed. The labor force also shrank by 272,000 as discouraged workers stopped looking for jobs. A broader unemployment rate (U-6) includes those who are underemployed or marginally attached to the workforce. The employment to population ratio equaled its lowest level during the recession at 52.8%, reflecting slow job growth and more people dropping out of the workforce.
Although some still fear inflation, there was little sign of it in the September CPI report and related core inflation measures
The document summarizes US inflation data for December 2012. It reports that the headline CPI showed little change, core inflation slowed slightly to 1.8%, and trimmed mean inflation remained moderate at 1.5%. All three major inflation indicators remained below the Fed's implicit 2% inflation target for December. The document also notes that economists look at core and trimmed mean inflation to judge underlying trends, and that longer-term year-over-year inflation rates are beginning to fall again.
The document summarizes inflation data from the August 2012 Consumer Price Index report. It notes that while headline inflation spiked to 7.44% due to a rise in gasoline prices, core inflation fell to 0.6%. The trimmed mean inflation rate also remained low at 2%. The document discusses how economists look at various inflation measures and the Federal Reserve's 2% inflation target when making monetary policy decisions like quantitative easing.