Independent measurements show that rental costs are on a downward trend as more apartment buildings come on the market. The measures of the rents in the CPI tend to be several months behind the independent ones.
Also pointing to an increasingly entrenched disinflationary trend, a survey by the National Federation of Independent Business this week showed the share of small businesses citing inflation as their most important problem fell in July to the lowest level since November 2021. The proportion of companies that raised prices was the lowest in two and a half years.
The cooling of the labor market should also help contain inflation. The government reported last week that the economy added 187,000 jobs in July, the second-lowest count since December 2020. Labor market conditions remain tight, however, with the unemployment rate at 50-plus-year lows. , which keeps wage gains high.
But with worker productivity rising, economists are optimistic about containing labor costs.
A separate report from the Labor Department showed Thursday that initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased by 21,000, to a seasonally adjusted 248,000, in the week ending Aug. 5. Economists had forecast 230,000 applications.
The number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, fell by 8 billion to 1.684 million during the week ending July 29, according to the claims report.
The so-called continuing claims are low compared to historical levels, indicating that some laid-off workers are experiencing short spells of unemployment.