Weekly Economic Recap: September 28 – October 4, 2026
Mortgage rates climbed to 7.30%, their highest since late 2023, and buyers kept pulling back, even as layoffs stayed near record lows and the economy kept growing.
Housing
Weekly Economic Recap: September 21 – September 27, 2026
Mortgage rates broke above 7% for the first time in over a year, hiring accelerated, and new home sales surprised to the upside even as consumer sentiment stayed near historic lows.
Labor Market
Weekly Economic Recap: September 14 – September 20, 2026
Last week brought a Fed rate hike, a rebound in retail sales, and further signs that housing affordability is under pressure as mortgage rates hit new multi-year highs.
Inflation
Weekly Economic Recap: September 7 – September 13, 2026
Last week's data releases painted a picture of a labor market holding steady, inflation reaccelerating on energy costs, and housing affordability continuing to slip as mortgage rates climb to multi-year highs.
Inflation
Weekly Economic Recap: August 31 – September 6, 2026
A look back at the week's key economic data releases, covering the labor market, housing, and wages.
Labor Market
Weekly Economic Recap: August 3 – August 9, 2026
A mixed week of data painted a picture of a labor market cooling from both the demand and supply side, a housing market straining under a fifth straight week of rising mortgage rates, and consumers growing slightly less worried about inflation even as they braced for higher unemployment. Here's the breakdown by industry and sector.
Labor Market
Housing & Mortgage Finance
Home price growth continued to run hot on a nominal basis but stayed underwater in real terms. The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index rose 1.6% YOY in May, up from 1.2% in April and above the 1.3% consensus estimate — Chicago posted the strongest YOY appreciation among the 20-city composite for the third straight month. MOM growth came in at 0.9%, easing slightly from April's 1.0% but still within the range of typical spring seasonal strength. The real story remains the inflation-adjusted picture: with May's CPI running at 4.2%, real (inflation-adjusted) home prices were negative for the 12th consecutive month, a 2.6-point gap between nominal appreciation and inflation.
Labor Market: Payroll growth keeps slowing while jobless claims hit a near-60-year low, leaving a labor market that looks resilient on the surface but is quietly losing steam underneath.
This week's data releases painted a picture of a labor market that's cooling in some corners while staying surprisingly resilient in others, alongside continued softness in housing and mortgage rates drifting to a one-month low.
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