U. S. Consumer Prices Rose 0.2% in January 2026

By Tom Burnett CFA On February 13, 2026, the Bureau of Labor Statistics issued its CPI Report for January. The CPI rose 0.2% in January, the smallest monthly increase since July. The year-over-year increase was 2.4%, down from 2.7% in December. The Core Index, excluding food and energy, rose 0.3% in…

By Tom Burnett CFA On February 11, 2026, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Employment Report for January. Total employment rose by 130,000 while the unemployment rate fell from 4.4% to 4.3%. One year ago, that figure was 4.0% The number of unemployed job seekers rose to 7.4 million, compared…

By Tom Burnett CFA On January 28,2026, the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (“FOMC”) voted to leave fed funds at a range of 3.5-3.75%. The vote was 10-2 with two members voting to cut rates by one-quarter point. The FOMC also reaffirmed its stated policy of returning inflation to a goal of 2%…

By Tom Burnett CFA On January 9, 2026, the Bureau Of Labor Statistics issued its Employment Report for December 2025. Jobs increased by 50,000 and the Unemployment Rate fell from 4.6% in November to 4.4%. The number of job seekers was little changed at 7.5 million. Hourly earnings for nonfarm payroll…

By Tom Burnett CFA On December 18, 2025, the Bureau of Labor Statistics issued its Consumer Price Index (“CPI”) report for November. There was no October report due to the Federal government shutdown. The CPI rose by 0.2% in November and by 2.7% over the past year. The lowest 12-month increase was…