CNBC Economy

U.S. producer prices rose a bit more than expected in August as the cost of services increased solidly, while underlying producer inflation continued to firm.

Job openings rose 10% in July to a pandemic high though the rate of hiring saw a sharp slump, according to a Labor Department report Wednesday.

The official unemployment rate fell to 8.4% in August. But the true jobless figure is likely much higher, perhaps remaining at a level higher than any other period since the Great Depression, according to economists.

Worries of a K-shaped recovery are growing in the alphabet-obsessed economics profession. That would entail continued growth, but split sharply between industries and economic groups. 

The unemployment rate was by far the lowest since the coronavirus shutdown in March, according to Labor Department figures released Friday.

CNBC studied the net change in employment by industry for August based on data from the Labor Department.

Certain often-overlooked markets may be telling us that the Fed's new policy framework is going to have some unintended consequences.

"Yes, some people are not able to go back to work. ... But there are others that are not willing to do so," the chief economic advisor at Allianz told CNBC.

Executive orders are a powerful tool when presidents can't agree with Congress. But that power is limited, especially when it comes to spending. After all, Congress holds the purse strings. Still, when pressure is mounting, presidents throughout history have used executive orders in hopes of trying to achieve their agenda.

The U.S. trade deficit surged to its highest level since 2008 in July amid a record increase in imports, suggesting that trade could be a drag on economic growth in the third quarter.

First-time claims for state unemployment benefits were expected to total 950,000 last week, according to economists surveyed by Dow Jones.

U.S. productivity rose at a 10.1% rate in the second quarter as the number of hours worked declined by the largest amount since the government started compiling the data more than 70 years ago.

The federal budget deficit is projected to hit a record $3.3 trillion due to Covid-19 costs and the recession, the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday.

Firms that track job growth for workers in industries like retail and hospitality say that employment barely budged in August.

Companies added 428,000 jobs during the month, well below the projections for 1.17 million though a leap above the lackluster 212,000 that ADP measured for July.

"There are some winners in the economy and the average looks OK, but there are still huge losers versus those winners, and that's a big societal challenge," Bridgewater Associates co-CIO Greg Jensen told CNBC.

The pace of job gains over the next decade will slow considerably amid a sharp decline in the active labor force and an aging population, according to Labor Department projections released Tuesday.

Clarida also said he and his fellow officials do not see negative interest rates as a viable option now and doubt the effectiveness of yield curve controls, though that could change.

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on "Closing Bell" that he expects the economy to continue to recover into next year while the central bank holds its policies steady.

Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Patrick Harker joined CNBC's "Squawk Box" to discuss the central bank's new inflation goal.