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Axios Macro

CEO confidence in the economy at a 4-year high

Business Roundtable’s CEO Economic Outlook Index rose to 94 in Q3 2026, its fifth consecutive quarterly increase and the highest level since 2022. The index remains well above 50, the threshold between expansion and contraction.


Business Roundtable CEO Economic Outlook Index

Axios AM

BlackRock's John Kelly: Skilled trades are growing path to living, investing better

Small businesses that adopt AI hire more workers

Small business headcount rose after AI adoption

New research sketches out how AI might reshape the economy

A line chart that tracks monthly projections from January 2026 to January 2030 under four scenarios: without AI, modest, substantial and extreme. All rise over time. By January 2030, values reach $33.56 trillion, $34.10 trillion, $36.34 trillion and $44.44 trillion, up from roughly $30.98 trillion to $31.17 trillion.

Projected U.S. GDP under AI scenarios

Data: Anthropic; Chart: Courtenay Brown/Axios

Perplexing labor market views

Job losses in the information sector are piling up

A line chart that shows monthly U.S. information-industry employment, including media, software, telecom and data-processing, from January 2019 to August 2026. Jobs fell from 2.91 million in February 2020 to 2.61 million in May 2020, peaked at 3.115 million in November 2022, then declined to 2.745 million.

Number of workers in the "information" industry

Data: Bureau of Labor Statistics via Fred; Chart: Emily Peck/Axios

America's jobs scare recedes

U.S. labor market booms, with 162,000 jobs added in August

A column chart that shows monthly changes in U.S. nonfarm payrolls in 2026. Payrolls ranged from a gain of 214,000 in March to a loss of 156,000 in February. Job growth slowed from 160,000 in January to 21,000 in July, then rebounded to 162,000 in August.

Change in U.S. nonfarm payrolls

Data: Bureau of Labor Statistics; Chart: Courtenay Brown/Axios

The labor market's lower-rung rebound

August hiring was tepid as jobs report looms

A column chart that shows monthly net change in private-sector employment from September 2025 to August 2026. Job gains range from 11,000 in January 2026 to 122,000 in May 2026. Hiring strengthened through spring, then eased to 38,000 in August after 95,000 in June.

Net change in private-sector employment

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The developments that matter in where and how much people are working.