Economy Picks Up Steam - October 1986

Economic growth improved in the second quarter, the government reported in October. The nation's unemployment rate edged upward 0.2 percent in September to 6.9 percent, the Labor Department reported, October 3. The department, said, October 10, that the index of prices paid by producers for finished goods rose 0.4 percent in September. The Commerce Department reported, October 15, that retail sales has risen 4.6 percent in September, the sharpest one-month jump in the nearly 20 years that records had been kept. The department said, October 22, that the economy had grown at an annual rate of 2.4 percent during the second quarter, a big improvement from the first quarter. Inflation rose 0.3 percent in September, the department reported, October 23. The cumulative increase in the cost of living in the 12 months ended in September triggered a 1.3 percent increase in Social Security benefits. The Commerce Department reported, October 30, that the nation's trade deficit narrowed for the second straight month in September, to $12.56B. The department said, October 31, that the index of leading economic indicators rose 0.4 percent in September.