Every number on this page has a date. Here they all are.
A tour of the September 2026 data — what was measured, when it was published, and how old each figure is by the time it reaches you.
- What happened
- Between September 4 and September 17, four agencies published the figures this site was reporting as of September 17, 2026: the August jobs report, the August CPI report, the FOMC decision and the weekly mortgage survey.
- Why
- Economic data describes a period that has already ended, and is published after a lag that differs by series. A figure's age is part of what it means.
- The numbers that matter
- 4 SepAugust jobs report11 SepAugust CPI16 SepFOMC decision17 SepMortgage survey
- Why it matters
- Two figures published a week apart can describe periods a month apart. Comparing them without noticing is the most common way to build a wrong conclusion out of correct numbers.
- What happens nextas we saw it on 21 Sep 2026
- The September CPI and employment reports are scheduled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The oldest reading here was published on September 4 and describes August. The newest describes one week.
| Mortgage survey (w/e 17 Sep) | 17 |
|---|---|
| FOMC decision | 16 |
| August CPI | 11 |
| August jobs report | 4 |
Most financial writing presents numbers as though they were all taken at the same moment. They never are. Here is the September 2026 set, with the dates attached.
| Published | Figure | Period it describes | Issuing agency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 September | Payrolls +162,000; unemployment 4.1% | August 2026 | Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| 11 September | Headline CPI 3.4%; core 2.4% | August 2026 | Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| September 15 | 10-year Treasury 5.00%; WTI $107.02 | One day | Treasury; EIA |
| 16 September | Fed funds target 3.75%–4.00% | Decision date | Federal Reserve Board |
| September 17 | 30-year mortgage 6.95% | One week | Freddie Mac |
Why the lag differs
A daily market price is published the same day. A monthly statistic has to be collected, checked and seasonally adjusted, which takes weeks. The August employment report describes a month that ended on August 31 and reached the public on September 4; the August CPI reached it on September 11.
The August jobs report revised June and July upward by a combined 55,000, and July changed sign. Monthly statistics are estimates that get better, not measurements that get repeated.
The trap this avoids
Consider a sentence like "inflation is 3.4% and mortgage rates are 6.95%". Both figures are correct. One describes the whole of August; the other describes the week ending September 17. They are not a snapshot of one moment, and anything built on them as though they were is slightly wrong in a way that is invisible.
A number without the period it measures is missing the same thing a length is missing without an inch or a meter. It is not that the date adds precision — it is that the figure does not mean anything specific without it.
Sources
- The Employment Situation — August 2026U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Sep 4, 2026 · Primary source
- Consumer Price Index Summary — August 2026U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Sep 11, 2026 · Primary source
- FOMC statement, September 16, 2026Federal Reserve Board · Sep 16, 2026 · Primary source
- Primary Mortgage Market Survey, week of September 17, 2026Freddie Mac · Sep 17, 2026 · Primary source
- 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Rate (DGS10), observation of September 15, 2026U.S. Department of the Treasury via FRED · Sep 15, 2026 · Primary source
- Crude Oil Prices: West Texas Intermediate (DCOILWTICO), observation of September 15, 2026U.S. Energy Information Administration via FRED · Sep 15, 2026 · Primary source
Related analysis
July's jobs number went from −23,000 to +21,000. That is not a rounding error.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics revised two months of hiring up by a combined 55,000. One of them changed sign, and it is the figure this publication built an article around.
The Fed sets 4%. The bond market says 5%. The gap is the interesting part.
The 10-year Treasury yielded 5.00% on September 15, above the federal funds target the Fed set the following day. That is not how the textbook draws it.
August added 162,000 jobs. The average of the prior twelve months was 31,000.
The strongest hiring month in a year sits on top of a twelve-month average five times smaller. Both numbers are true, and only one of them is a trend.