What to know about the US economy as midterm elections near
Inflation is weighing on shoppers, but the economy continues to grow.
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economy → know → shoppers
The federal government has released most of the major economic data left to be unveiled ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, meaning voters already have all of the official economic numbers before they head to the polls.
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they → release → polls
But other indicators show that the economy ranks as a top concern among Americans, who are growing ever more frustrated with their increasing inability to make ends meet.
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ends → show → inability
The University of Michigan's monthly survey, for example, the latest of which was released last week, shows consumer sentiment currently stands at the second-lowest level ever recorded in the survey's 74-year history.
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sentiment → release → history
Additionally, half or more Americans described every household purchase category measured as “unaffordable” in the latest ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll.
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Americans → describe → poll
A 71% majority of respondents now call gasoline unaffordable, up from 28% who said the same in February, before the war in Iran drove up fuel costs.
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war → call → costs
The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas stood at $4.22 a gallon Thursday, $1.19 more than this time a year ago, according to AAA, while a gallon of diesel averages $6.33 a gallon, a $2.65 per gallon increase compared to a year ago.
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gallon → stand → gallon
Still, employers are adding jobs, though hiring has slowed and the economy is continuing to grow.
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economy → add → jobs
Speaking at a rally in Corinth, Miss., on Monday, President Donald Trump said the U.S. economy was experiencing "unbelievable growth, the biggest growth in the history of our country."
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economy → speak → country
Trump acknowledged the rise in oil prices, but he said the war with Iran had been worth it to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
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war → acknowledge → weapon
"I don't want to belittle it because it's a big thing but I thought the price of oil was going to go much, much higher and I was fully prepared to do it," Trump said.
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Trump → want → it
Here's what to know about the U.S. economy as the midterm election nears.
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election → know → economy
Inflation is climbing.
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Inflation → climb → ?
Shoppers are taking notice.
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Shoppers → take → notice
The Iran war sparked a rise of inflation, squeezing household budgets and leaving shoppers glum.
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war → spark → shoppers
Prices rose at an annual rate of 3.7% in September, the most recent month on record, federal government data showed.
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data → rise → record
Inflation runs more than a percentage point higher than the Federal Reserve's target rate of 2%.
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Inflation → run → %
The pace of price increases is outpacing the average rise in wages, sapping spending power from workers' take-home pay.
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pace → outpace → pay
Wages began to trail inflation in April, exacerbating the budget crunch.
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Wages → begin → crunch
Price hikes have taken a toll on the outlook among consumers.
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hikes → take → consumers
Consumer sentiment stands near the lowest level ever recorded in the 74-year history of the University of Michigan's monthly survey.
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sentiment → stand → survey
Shoppers expect inflation to rise even more over the next year, the survey found.
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survey → expect → year
The economy is growing due in part to a boost from AI
The economy has continued to grow at a robust pace, shrugging off disruption from the Iran war and expanding at an annualized rate of 3.4% over the three months ending in September, according to a government report released on Thursday.
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economy → grow → Thursday
That growth amounted to an acceleration from 2.2% and 2.5% annualized GDP growth in the previous two quarters, respectively, U.S. Commerce Department data showed.
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data → amount → quarters
Economic growth so far this year stands roughly in line with the expansion recorded in 2025.
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growth → stand → 2025
A surge in spending on artificial intelligence has helped boost the U.S. economy in recent quarters.
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surge → spend → quarters
The AI sector contributed an average of 0.56 percentage points GDP growth in each of the first two quarters, accounting for more than 20% of economic growth, according to a study published last month by J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
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sector → contribute → Management
Consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of economic activity, has also proven resilient, surging 0.9% in August from July, marking the fastest monthly rise since March, federal government data showed.
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data → account → March
Job growth is resilient but volatile
The labor market is growing at a fairly robust clip, though performance from one month to the next has fluctuated dramatically.
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performance → grow → next
The U.S. added an average of about 68,000 jobs per month over the first nine months of this year, according to an analysis by the Atlanta Federal Reserve.
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U.S. → add → Reserve
That pace marks an uptick from an average of 10,000 jobs added each month in 2025.
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pace → mark → 2025
Job gains have proven unstable, however.
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gains → prove → ?
Employers added only 29,000 jobs in September, the most recent month on record, which marked a sharp slowdown from 133,000 jobs added in August, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data showed.
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data → add → BLS
That figure in August, meanwhile, demonstrated a major upswing from 10,000 jobs lost in July.
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figure → demonstrate → July
Even so, the yearly unemployment rate has remained consistently low since 2017, holding at 4.4% or lower with the exception of pandemic-era performance in 2020 and 2021, according to the BLS.
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rate → remain → BLS
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