Hiring stayed solid and growth held its ground, yet a fresh jump in inflation kept the week from feeling like good news.
- Growth is holding up, with the Atlanta Fed's GDPNow model tracking 3.3% for the second quarter and the April trade deficit narrowing to $55.9 billion.
- Employers added 172,000 jobs in May per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and unemployment held steady at 4.3%, pointing to a labor market cooling gradually rather than stalling.
- April JOLTS data showed openings rising to about 7.6 million while quits held near 3 million, a sign workers are staying put even as employers keep hiring.
- Initial jobless claims came in at 229,000, keeping layoffs well within healthy range.
- Consumer inflation reaccelerated, with CPI up 0.5% in May and 4.2% from a year earlier, driven by energy and still-rising shelter prices.
- Producer prices ran hotter still, up 1.1% for the month and 6.5% year over year, signaling business cost pressures have not eased.
- Persistent inflation keeps near-term rate cuts off the table and raises the risk borrowing costs stay higher for longer than many hoped.
- Real hourly earnings slipped in May, down 0.7% from a year ago, eroding purchasing power as prices climb.
- Consumer credit grew at a 4.8% annual rate and revolving credit surged 10.4%, a sign households lean more on credit to sustain spending.
- Construction spending rose 0.4% in April, led by a 0.8% gain in private residential activity, supporting multifamily demand.
- The Fed's latest Beige Book showed modest growth across many of its 12 districts, though affordability pressure, cautious consumers and higher costs remain in focus.
- For apartments, demand still rests on steady jobs and growth, but tighter renter budgets and persistent inflation leave little room for error.
For more information on the state of the U.S. Economy, including forecasts, watch all the episodes of the Economy Express series.
