U.S. Economic News
September 21, 2017
U.S. Economic Indicators
The FHFA House Price Index shows that U.S. house prices rose 0.2% in July and were up 6.3% from the same period last year. House prices rose on an annual basis in all nine census divisions. Report
Initial jobless claims decreased 23,000 to 259,000 last week. The four-week moving average rose 6,000 to 268,750. DOL Report
U.S. News
The Wall Street Journal reports that retailers have already begun hiring warehouse workers for the holiday season in order to ensure they have enough staff to cover increased sales. As the unemployment rate hovers near record lows, wages for warehouse workers are expected to jump 10% compared to non-peak times of the year and 5% over last year’s level. WSJ
According to the Financial Times, new projections reveal that Federal Reserve officials expect U.S. economic growth to slow by more than half a percentage point in 2020. The projections also reveal that Fed officials expect the federal funds rate to be above its long-run rate in 2020, implying that officials will “put the brakes” on the economy to ensure that inflation does not accelerate. FT
Ben Casselman of the New York Times writes that the sluggish recovery from the Great Recession in part can be traced to the decline in the creation of new businesses. Economists say that the stagnant start-up rate could be due the growing power of large corporations, who have found it easier to drive challengers out of business or absorb them. NYT