Scott Horsley

Inflation picked up a little steam last month, largely as a result of rising gas prices. The Federal Reserve is still expected to hold interest rates steady when policymakers meet next week.

The cost of car insurance has jumped more than 19% in the last year, far outpacing overall inflation. There are several reasons why that's happening.

Organized labor has scored some big victories this year, including new contracts at UPS. Can the winning streak continue?

Hiring has cooled in recent months. But that's not all bad. Employers are still adding jobs each month, and wages are still climbing.

U.S. employers added 187,000 jobs in August. The unemployment rate rose, but only because hundreds of thousands of people came off the sidelines and started looking for work.

Employers added 187,000 jobs in August, while the unemployemnt rate rose to 3.8%. The data indicates a steady labor market heading into the Labor Day weekend.

The Labor Department reports on job gains for July Friday morning. Forecasters expect the report to show a gradual cooling of the job market, with a still-low unemployment rate.

A proposal from the Labor Department would make an estimated 3.6 million salaried workers newly eligible for overtime pay. It covers workers earning less than $55,000 per year.

From streaming TV to razor blades by mail, Americans are buying more goods and services through pay-by-the-month plans. New research shows they often keep paying long after they want to.

Back-to-school spending reached another record this year, while other spending is giving some indications of how Americans feel about the economy.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said interest rates could stay elevated for an extended period to bring inflation to the central bank's 2% target.

The housing market is showing a split: Sales of existing homes were down last month, but sales of newly built houses were up.

Sales of existing homes fell more than 2% in July, as rising mortgage rates kept many would-be buyers and sellers on the sidelines.

Rates for a fixed, 30-year mortgage jumped to the highest rate seen in over 20 years - over seven percent. We'll look at what this means for prospective homebuyers, and the housing market in general.

The average cost of a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage jumped to 7.09% this week, the highest in over two decades. Rising interest rates have put homes out of reach for many would-be buyers.

Builders broke ground on almost 7% more single-family homes in July than in June. New houses are selling quickly, despite high mortgage rates, because of a shortage of existing homes on the market.

Gas and groceries got more expensive in July, but the price of most other goods was down. The Federal Reserve may be able to bring inflation under control without tipping the economy into recession.

Consumer prices rose 3.2% in July from a year ago, higher than the 3% gain seen in June — but it was largely due to math. Overall, inflation continues to ease, raising optimism about the economy.

Consumer prices rose 3.2% in July from a year ago, up slightly from the 3% annual rise see in June — but still within analyst expectations

The Labor Department's new cost of living report showed an uptick in inflation last month — for the first time in a year. The 3.2% jump in consumer prices was within expectations.