Closing time
Welcome to the Know the Difference Minute for Thursday, August 17th. 
Economic data can be confusing. One challenge is knowing the difference between a level and a rate of change. The consumer price index is the level of prices. Inflation is the rate of change of prices. Lower inflation does not require lower prices, it just requires them to stop rising so quickly.
Another example comes from the monthly jobs report. Headlines focus on the change in payrolls. But what about the level? In July, there were more than 156 million people on payrolls, but the change was 187 thousand—only 0.12% of the level. 187,000 sounds like a lot. 0.12% doesn’t.
The total number of people on payrolls is up 4% from the pre-COVID peak. GDP is up more than 6%. The labor market has been playing a game of catchup to the broader economy. That gap is close to being closed.
I’m Brian Jacobsen, Chief Economist at Annex Wealth Management.  That is your Know the Difference Minute.