The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the final estimate released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) today, April 9, 2026. 

U.S. initial jobless claims rose to 219,000 for the week ending April 4, 2026. This was a significant increase of 16,000 from the previous week's revised level of 203,000 and exceeded economist forecasts of 210,000. 

The minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting held on March 17–18, 2026, were released today, Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. EDT.

The February 2026 JOLTS report, released on March 31, 2026, shows a cooling labor market with job openings falling more than expected to 6.882 million. This reflects a decrease of 358,000 from the revised January figure of 7.2 million. 

New orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods fell 1.4% in February 2026 to $315.5 billion, missing market expectations of a 1.0% to 1.1% decline. This marks a continued trend of contraction, with orders down in four of the last five months. 

The ISM Services PMI for March 2026 registered 54%, a decrease of 2.1 percentage points from February's reading of 56.1%. While the index indicates the 21st consecutive month of expansion for the services sector, it fell short of market expectations (forecasted at 54.8%–55.0%).