WHC Founder, Will Holmes has gathered key U.S. economic indicators for your review. If you have questions regarding how to use this information to grow your business, please contact us using the form below.
Consumer Price Index (CPI):
-0.1% in March 2025
Unemployment Rate:
4.2% in March 2025
National Debt:
As of April 13, 2025, the U.S. gross national debt exceeds $36.7 trillion.
30 Year Bond Rates
As of Friday, April 11, 2025, the rate for the 30-year U.S. Treasury bond was approximately 4.85%.
Updated U.S. Job Numbers
MARCH 2025
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 228,000 in March, and the unemployment rate changed
little at 4.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred
in health care, in social assistance, and in transportation and warehousing. Employment also
increased in retail trade, partially reflecting the return of workers from a strike. Federal
government employment declined.
This news release presents statistics from two monthly surveys. The household survey measures
labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The establishment
survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. For more information about
the concepts and statistical methodology used in these two surveys, see the Technical Note.
Household Survey Data
Both the unemployment rate, at 4.2 percent, and the number of unemployed people, at 7.1 million,
changed little in March. The unemployment rate has remained in a narrow range of 4.0 percent to
4.2 percent since May 2024. (See table A-1.)
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (3.8 percent), adult women
(3.7 percent), teenagers (13.7 percent), Whites (3.7 percent), Blacks (6.2 percent), Asians
(3.5 percent), and Hispanics (5.1 percent) showed little or no change in March. (See tables
A-1, A-2, and A-3.)
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more), at 1.5 million,
changed little in March. The long-term unemployed accounted for 21.3 percent of all unemployed
people. (See table A-12.)
The labor force participation rate, at 62.5 percent, changed little over the month and over
the year. The employment-population ratio held at 59.9 percent in March. (See table A-1.)
The number of people employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.8 million, changed little
in March. These individuals would have preferred full-time employment but were working part
time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs. (See
table A-8.)
The number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job was essentially unchanged
at 5.9 million in March. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were
not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to
take a job. (See table A-1.)
Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of people marginally attached
to the labor force, at 1.7 million, was essentially unchanged in March. These individuals
wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months
but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged
workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for
them, changed little at 509,000 in March.
U.S. Stock Market
The summary below covers the activity from Monday, April 7th to Friday, April 11th, 2025.
The stock market experienced a volatile but ultimately positive week, marked by significant intraday swings and a strong recovery towards the end of the period. Initially, concerns lingered from the previous week regarding potential impacts of trade developments and inflation worries. However, a shift in sentiment and some positive economic data helped the major indices rally strongly, especially towards the latter half of the week.
Here’s a summary of the performance of the major indices:
- S&P 500: The S&P 500 ended the week in positive territory. It closed at approximately 5,363, gaining around 5.7% for the week. The index showed significant volatility, with sharp drops followed by strong rebounds.
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: The Dow also saw a notable increase for the week, closing around 40,213, up about 5.0%. Similar to the S&P 500, it experienced considerable intraday fluctuations.
- NASDAQ Composite: The tech-heavy NASDAQ performed strongly, closing the week at approximately 16,724, a gain of around 7.3%. Technology stocks, particularly mega-cap growth stocks, showed significant recovery after previous losses.
Key Themes and Observations:
- Volatility: The week was characterized by high volatility, with large intraday ranges. This was partly attributed to ongoing uncertainty related to potential policy shifts and trade developments.
- Strong Rebound: Despite early weakness, all three major indices staged a significant rally, particularly on Wednesday, April 9th, which saw substantial gains.
- Mega-Cap Growth Recovery: Large technology and growth stocks that had experienced a sell-off in the previous week bounced back strongly and led much of the upside.
- Small and Mid-Caps Lagged: While still positive, small and mid-cap stocks generally underperformed the larger indices during this recovery.
- Dollar Weakness: The U.S. Dollar Index ($DXY) saw a notable drop, falling below 100 for the first time since July of the previous year. This potentially signaled a shift in investor sentiment regarding U.S. assets.
- Treasury Yields: Treasury markets also showed some weakness during the week. The 10-year Treasury yield ended the week slightly higher but experienced some fluctuations.
- Earnings Season: While the week marked the beginning of earnings season, major reports from several large banks were released towards the end of the week (Friday). These earnings generally exceeded estimates but saw muted gains in the bank stocks, possibly due to lingering economic concerns.
In conclusion, the stock market experienced a turbulent week but ultimately finished with strong gains across the major indices. The rebound suggested a temporary easing of some market anxieties, particularly in the growth and technology sectors. However, the underlying volatility indicated that investors remained sensitive to economic data and policy-related news.