The Data Brief: labor, prices and the week ahead

Fedabase's latest official-data check shows U.S. unemployment at 4.2%, the CPI-U index at 334.980, and a monthly payroll move of 29,000 jobs for September 2026. The latest available job-openings reading is 7.08 million.

The monitor is refreshed from BLS public time series and cross-checked with company filings, World Bank comparisons and Eurostat releases elsewhere on the site. Each number retains its source and reference period so readers can distinguish a current observation from a forecast or estimate.

Release calendars differ, so the newest observation in one series may refer to a different month or quarter than another. The source period displayed beside every reading is the appropriate comparison point.