Economic Insights
Recent Economic Developments
Inflation Trends
Inflation in the U.S. slowed down in February. Prices were 2.8% higher than a year ago, which is less than the 3% increase we saw in January. Month to month, prices went up just 0.2%, also slower than in January. Overall, things are still getting more expensive — just not as quickly as before.
Growth Outlook
In the last three months of 2024, the U.S. spent less money than usual buying goods and services from other countries compared to what it earned. This trade gap shrank by $6.3 billion, bringing the total deficit down to $303.9 billion. That means the U.S. is slightly improving its balance of money going in and out of the country.
Labor Market
In February, the U.S. added 151,000 new jobs, and the unemployment rate stayed about the same at 4.1%. Most of the new jobs were in health care, finance, transportation, and social services. However, fewer people were working in federal government jobs.