The government reports that move markets: inflation, jobs, growth, and the Fed's interest-rate decisions. Each one says what it measures and what it read last time. Dates come from the agencies that publish them. Educational, not advice.
Economic analysis
What the last reports said and what the next ones are, in plain English
worth a closer look
Everything below comes from the calendar on this page: the same reports, the same readings. It answers the questions a person has about the economy, in the order they usually ask them.
What's coming up?
8 reports in the next six weeks. The next big one is CPI, September, Wednesday, Oct 14 at 8:30 AM Eastern. Then Fed decision (FOMC) on Tue–Wed, Oct 27–28 and PCE inflation, September on Thursday, Oct 29.
Where is inflation?
Prices rose 0.4% in August and are 3.4% higher than a year ago. That is well above the 2% a year the Fed aims for. The yearly rate picked up from 3.3% the month before. The month itself was a hot one: at that pace, prices would rise about 5% a year. The measure the Fed goes by, PCE, read 3.4% on the year in August.
How are jobs?
The economy added about 29 thousand jobs in September, and 4.2% of people looking for work couldn't find one. That is a weak month. Below about 100 thousand, hiring isn't keeping up with the people joining the workforce. Unemployment rose from 4.1% the month before.
Is the economy growing?
The economy grew at a 2.2% yearly pace in Q2 2026, after inflation. That is a healthy pace for a large economy. The quarter before was 2.5%. This is the third estimate for the quarter; the figure gets revised as more data comes in.
What is the Fed doing?
At its Sep 15–16 meeting the Fed raised its key rate to 3.75–4.00%, from 3.50–3.75%. A higher rate makes borrowing dearer and tends to cool prices and hiring; a lower one does the opposite. The next decision is on Tue–Wed, Oct 27–28.
What this calendar can't tell you
What the next report will say. No forecasts are shown here: no free source publishes them, and a made-up "what the market expects" would be worse than none. Dates can move, and the agencies' own schedules win. Past readings are the latest published figures, so they include later revisions.
The bottom line
Prices are still rising faster than the Fed wants while hiring has slowed. That is the awkward mix: a lower rate would help hiring but feed prices, and a higher one would do the reverse. The Fed weighs exactly that at its next meeting on Tue–Wed, Oct 27–28. None of this is a forecast or a recommendation. It is what the last reports said, and when the next ones land.
What to watch next
- CPI, September, Wednesday, Oct 14: What consumers pay. The number most people mean by "inflation."
- Fed decision (FOMC), Tue–Wed, Oct 27–28: Whether the Fed raises, cuts or holds its key interest rate, and what it says about what comes next.
- PCE inflation, September, Thursday, Oct 29: The inflation measure the Fed goes by. "Core" leaves out food and energy, which swing from month to month.
How to read this
A big mover Watched. "Last time" is what the same report said the time before; "This time" fills in once it's out. No forecasts here: no free source publishes them, and a made-up "what the market expects" would be worse than none.
Reminders
Tap Remind me on a release and you get an email and a push notification at 7:00 AM Eastern on the day, before every release of that kind. Free account; one click to turn off.
The Mentals
Why the market moved the way it did on release day, explained after the fact. Read the latest issue.
Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Federal Reserve. Values via FRED®, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; they are the latest published figures, so past readings include later revisions. Dates can change; the agencies' own schedules win.
Educational tool, not investment advice. These are automated estimates from
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