Economic Indicators

Learn how interest rates, inflation, jobs, housing, energy, and GDP shape the economy.

Lessons

1

Federal Funds Target Rate

How a central bank sets rates.

Explore how monetary policy affects markets and the economy.

2

Consumer Price Index

Tracking inflation through consumer prices.

Understand CPI, cost of living, and impacts on finances.

3

Inflation excluding food and energy.

Learn about core inflation, why it excludes volatile items, and its policy use.

4

Personal Consumption Expenditures

Measuring consumer spending and inflation.

Learn how PCE tracks spending, inflation, and Fed policy impacts.

5

Producer Price Index

Factory prices and inflation signals.

Tracks changes in producer costs to forecast inflationary pressure.

6

Why governments borrow.

Learn how debt, deficits, and trade shape the economy.

7

How oil drives prices, trade, and growth.

Learn how production, costs, and geopolitics affect oil prices.

8

Natural Gas Production

How natural gas signals growth.

Explore how gas production impacts jobs, prices, and policy.

9

Consumer Sentiment

How confident households feel.

Learn how consumer surveys predict spending and market trends.

10

Initial Jobless Claims

How unemployment moves up and down.

Weekly report of new unemployment filings is a strong signal on labor trends.

11

Payroll Employment

Labor market snapshot.

Monthly nonfarm payrolls, wages, and labor-market signals.

12

Unemployment Rate

Labor market health in one percentage.

Percent of the labor force unemployed but actively seeking work.

13

New-home construction and economic demand.

Monthly measure of new home projects that signals builder confidence.

14

Building Permits

Signals of future construction activity.

Official approvals for new projects forecasting construction and jobs.

15

Measure of consumer spending and demand.

Tracks store sales to signal economic health and consumer confidence.

16

Corporate Profits

The pulse of the private sector.

Discover how earnings can drive a company's investments, job creation, and market performance.

17

True economic growth adjusted for inflation.

Real GDP strips out inflation to show actual output growth.

Economic Indicators - InvestMentor