Scott Horsley

Consumer prices rose 0.4% in August and 1.3% over the last 12 months. Some economists say that official measure understates inflation, because the pandemic has changed both what and how we buy.

The pandemic has changed how people are shopping in ways that are not reflected in official measurements like the Consumer Price Index, due out Friday morning. Lived inflation is probably even higher.

Owensboro, Ky., has enjoyed the closest thing to a V-shaped recovery of any city in the country. Its jobless rate soared in April but by June was back to pre-pandemic levels.

U.S. employers added 1.4 million jobs in August, but job growth has slowed since June. In an interview with NPR, however, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the economic recovery is stronger than expected.

In an interview with NPR, Powell says it may take years before the economy has fully recovered. He says practicing social distancing and wearing masks is essential for the economy to rebound.

Fewer jobs were added to the economy last month even as the unemployment rate fell to 8.4%. Job growth has slowed since June in a sign of what could be a long and painful recovery from the recession.

In Owensboro, Kentucky, the the unemployment rate this summer was actually lower than it was before the pandemic.

Another 881,000 people applied for state unemployment benefits last week, the Labor Department says. That's down from the previous week, but the report comes with an asterisk.

Congressional forecasters expect the federal deficit to reach $3.3 trillion during the current fiscal year. By 2023, government debt will reach an all-time high of 107% of GDP.

Some employees will soon see a boost in take-home pay. The Trump administration has given employers the option to stop collecting payroll taxes. But workers may have to repay the money next year.

The Trump administration is planning to suspend the collection of payroll taxes starting Tuesday. But unless Congress forgives the taxes, workers will end up with smaller paychecks early next year.

Consumer spending rose 1.9% last month — but the rebound slowed from May and June. Unemployment benefits continued to prop up spending in July, but that may change in August.

The Federal Reserve is adjusting its long-range policy on inflation and employment. The central bank said it's now more concerned with prices that are too low than with runaway inflation.

President Trump gets higher marks for handling the economy than just about anything else, despite presiding over the worst recession since the Great Depression.

A new trade deal with Europe lifts tariffs that had put American lobster producers at a competitive disadvantage.

The expiration of emergency jobless benefits is draining $15 billion a week from the U.S. economy. President Trump has offered to replace half that money, but states have been slow to accept.

South Dakota's governor has rejected President Trump's executive action to boost unemployment benefits. Critics say that move is shortsighted in a state where tens of thousands of remain out of work.

President Trump's nominee to the Federal Reserve board, Judy Shelton, has been a lightning rod. Critics question her unconventional economic views as well as her political allegiance to the president.

With lights out in many offices and millions of people plugging in at home, residential power bills are soaring, even as overall electricity consumption slumps during the recession.

Initial unemployment claims had been above 1 million for 20 straight weeks. The total receiving unemployment also dipped, to 28.3 million, as of July 25.