Economy

The most recent confirmed JOLTS figures show 7.359 million job openings in June 2026, a 4.4% openings rate, and a calculated openings-to-unemployed ratio of approximately 1.06 against July's 6.916 million unemployed. The July 2026 JOLTS release, scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Eastern on September 1, will provide the first complete update on openings, hires, quits, and layoffs ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee's September 15–16 meeting. Until that release, no July-specific figures, industry breakdowns, or revised estimates can be reported.

The national ISM Manufacturing PMI for August publishes at 10:00 a.m. ET on September 1, 2026, following July's reading of 55.6, the highest since May 2022 and the seventh consecutive month of expansion. Regional Federal Reserve surveys for August showed generally positive but mixed signals, with stronger headline activity in New York, Dallas, and Kansas City offset by softer new orders in Philadelphia and little change in Richmond. The August report will confirm whether the expansion streak held, whether employment remained above 50 for a second month after 33 months of contraction, and whether input prices stayed elevated after July's Prices Index of 71.1.

A Reuters poll of all 35 economists surveyed expects the Bank of Canada to leave its overnight rate unchanged at 2.25% at tomorrow's announcement, extending a hold that has been in place across six consecutive decisions since December 2025. The decision arrives alongside a 0.8% Q2 GDP gain, July inflation at 3.0% year-over-year, and Canada's announcement of new counter-tariffs on $27.6 billion in U.S. imports taking effect six days later on September 8. Readers will find a precise account of the economic data now before the Bank and the specific policy questions its September statement will need to address.

Federal Reserve Governors Christopher Waller and Michael Barr are scheduled to deliver economic outlook remarks on September 1, 2026, but no prepared texts or completed remarks were available before the events began. Waller's most recent baseline, from a July 13 speech, shows core PCE inflation at 3.4 percent and a conditional willingness to tighten if readings stay hot; Barr's last retrieved outlook remarks date to March 2026. Readers tracking Fed signals ahead of the September 15–16 FOMC meeting will need to wait for the actual speech texts before drawing conclusions about either governor's current position.

The Dallas Fed's Texas Manufacturing General Activity Index jumped to 11.6 from 1.3 in July, led by new orders rising to 22.0 and production to 16.1, while the six-month outlook strengthened across all measures. Dallas, Philadelphia, and New York posted higher headline activity indexes than July, Kansas City edged up, and only Richmond edged down, though raw-material price indexes remained elevated across regions. These five regional surveys offer timely directional context ahead of the national ISM Manufacturing PMI release scheduled for September 1, but cannot be treated as a composite forecast of that result.

The Census Bureau's July 2026 Construction Spending report publishes September 1 at 10:00 a.m. EDT, with June 2026 serving as the current benchmark at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,166.5 billion, down 0.1% from May and 3.2% from a year earlier. Private residential spending stood at $877.1 billion in June while public construction held nearly flat at $544.1 billion. The July figures will update all major sector breakdowns and feed into BEA structures investment estimates used in GDP calculations.