Economy

The Bureau of Labor Statistics preliminary Q2 2026 release shows U.S. nonfarm business labor productivity grew 1.4% annualized, with output up 1.7% and hours worked up just 0.3%. Nominal hourly compensation rose 2.7%, but CPI-U inflation pushed real hourly compensation down 3.1%, meaning workers produced more per hour while their inflation-adjusted pay declined. Unit labor costs rose 1.3%, reflecting the gap between compensation growth and productivity gains, though the BLS release does not itself project a future inflation or Federal Reserve policy outcome.

The Department of Labor's August 6 release shows initial jobless claims holding near 199,000 for the week ended August 1, while seasonally adjusted insured unemployment climbed to 1,801,000 for the week ended July 25. The one-week divergence between the two series is partly a product of seasonal adjustment mechanics: unadjusted insured unemployment actually fell by 5,066, but seasonal factors had anticipated a larger drop of 30,206. State-level and industry-level breakdowns for the continuing-claims increase are not available in the current release.

U.S. merchant wholesale sales dropped to $794.1 billion in June 2026, reversing May's 3.5% gain, with nondurable goods accounting for the bulk of the decline including a 3.9% fall in petroleum inventories. Total inventories edged up just 0.2% to $944.7 billion, though that gain was confined to durables while nondurable stocks shrank. The inventories-to-sales ratio rose to 1.19 from 1.15 in May, remaining well below the 1.30 recorded a year earlier.