Inflation remains the top business problem for small business owners, with 32% of owners reporting it as their single most important problem in operating their business, five points lower than July’s highest reading since the fourth quarter of 1979. The Small Business Optimism Index rose 0.6 points in November to 91.9. November’s reading is the 11th consecutive month below the … [More]

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.1 percent in November on a seasonally adjusted basis, after increasing 0.4 percent in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 7.1 percent before seasonal adjustment. The index for shelter was by far the largest contributor to the … [More]

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Greater Phoenix saw its annual gross domestic product climb 7.7 percent since 2019, the last full economic year before the pandemic, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis and its 2021 County GDP Report released Dec. 8. The metro area’s growth rate was more than twice the national average for the same period, 2.9 percent, and … [More]