National

Macro

Axios Macro

Fed officials warned rate hikes may be needed if inflation stays high

AI optimism fades among young adults

A line chart that shows how adults ages 18 to 29 view AI each year from 2021 to 2026. Those more concerned than excited rose from 31% to 55%, peaking in 2026. Those more excited than concerned fell from 25% to 11%, reaching their low in 2026.

How young adults say they feel about AI

Women are missing out on the AI jobs boom

A bar chart shows new hires for AI roles posted to LinkedIn in 2025. 82% of members of technical staff hires were male with a median listed pay at $223k. 50% of data annotators were male and had a median listed pay of $51k.

<span style="display: block;text-wrap:pretty;">New hires for select AI roles posted to LinkedIn, 2025</span>

Data: LinkedIn; Table: Danielle Alberti/Axios

Gen Z is building an AI-resistant college backup plan

Another cool July inflation reading

A line chart that tracks monthly U.S. producer price inflation from July 2021 to July 2026 for overall prices and prices excluding food, energy and trade. Overall inflation peaks at 11.59% in March 2022, bottoms at 0.30% in June 2023, then rises to 4.7% in July 2026.

U.S. Producer Price Index

Data: Bureau of Labor Statistics; Chart: Neil Irwin/Axios

Aging U.S. demographics jolt labor market data

A line chart that shows the U.S. labor force participation rate, the share of Americans working or seeking work, from December 2009 to July 2026. It starts at 64.6%, peaks at 65.2% in April 2010, falls to 60.1% in April 2020, then edges down to 61.4% by July 2026.

U.S. labor force participation rate

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

Summertime job market remains muggy

A column chart that shows monthly changes in U.S. nonfarm payrolls from July 2025 to July 2026. Payrolls ranged from a gain of 214,000 in March 2026 to a loss of 156,000 in February 2026. The data swings between gains and losses, ending down 23,000 in July 2026.

Change in U.S. nonfarm payrolls

U.S. economy surprisingly lost 23,000 jobs in July

Closer

Axios Closer

These Middle America brands are struggling in the street fight over consumers

Markets

Axios Markets

U.S. workers' share of national income falls to a new low

A line chart that shows the U.S. labor share of nonfarm business income quarterly from Q1 1947 to Q1 2026. It ranges from 66.2% in Q4 1960 to 53.7% in Q1 2026. The series trends lower over time, with laborâs share mostly near 54% to 57% since 2010.

U.S. labor share of nonfarm business income

Data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Chart: Matt Phillips/Axios

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