10 economic indicators + 2 costs of inflation

menu costs (cost of inflation)

marginal cost of adjusting prices → businesses use resources to reprint menus, adjust price tags, reprogram vencing machines

shoe-leather costs (cost of inflation)

costs incurred trying to avoid holding cash → people spend time trying to keep wealth in assets or spending money quickly, moving money around to preserve its value

real GDP

broadest measure of economic activity + measures total size of economy

real GDI

cross-check on GDP + adds up total income

nonfarm payrolls

shows if labor market is improving + tracks number of workers on businesses’ payrolls

unemployment rate

indicator of excess capacity + part of labor force that wants a job but can’t find one

initial unemployment claims

shows lost jobs

business confidence

what managers are planning

consumer confidence

what consumers are thinking

inflation rate

what’s happening with prices

employment cost index

how fast wages and benefis are rising

stock market

future expected profits of businesses (overpredicts recessions)