U.S. job openings fell in December, a sign that the labor market is cooling but remains healthy.

U.S. hiring picked up unexpectedly in December as employers added 256,000 jobs, another sign of the economy’s resilience in the face of high interest rates.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week jumped to its highest level in a year, which analysts are saying is more likely a result of Hurricane Helene — and the Boeing strike — than a broader softening in the labor market.

The U.S. budget deficit hit $2.54 trillion for the first 10 months of this budget year, fed by spending to support the country after the pandemic-induced recession.

U.S. construction spending fell 0.3% in May.

FILE - This Aug. 11, 2019 file photo shows Visa credit cards in New Orleans. The Federal Reserve reported Friday, March 5, 2021 that consumer borrowing fell by $1.3 billion in January, the first setback since a $9 billion decline in August. The Federal Reserve reported Friday that consumer borrowing fell by $1.3 billion in January, the first setback since a $9 billion decline in August. The weakness came from a $9.9 billion decline in borrowing in the category that covers credit cards. AdThe drop in borrowing in January meant total consumer credit in the Fed report dipped by 0.4% to $4.18 trillion.

The U.S. government's budget deficit hit $735.7 billion through the first four months of the budget year, an all-time high for the period, as a pandemic-induced recession cut into tax revenues while spending on COVID relief measures sent outlays soaring. The Treasury Department reported Wednesday that the deficit so far for the budget year that began Oct. 1 is 89% higher than the $389.2 billion deficit run up in the same period a year ago. One of the big spending categories last month included $139 billion for another round of individual economic relief payments authorized by the $900 billion relief measure Congress passed in late December. All the spending for COVID relief sent the budget deficit for the 2020 fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 to a record $3.1 trillion. All the deficit spending has pushed the amount of public debt to levels not seen since the end of World War II.

Spending on U.S. construction projects increased 0.9% in November as strength in home building offset weakness in other parts of the construction industry. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)WASHINGTON – U.S. construction spending rose a moderate 1% in December as the number of new homes offset a sustained weakness in nonresidential construction. While home construction is gaining, there was a 1.7% decline in nonresidential construction, which had declines in hotel and motel construction and in the category that includes shopping centers. Residential construction was up 20.7% over December 2019 with spending on single-family homes rising 23.5% while spending on apartment construction was up 17.8%. By contrast, nonresidential construction was down 9.8% from December 2019 with hotel and motel construction down 24.6% and office building down 3.3%.

The Federal Reserve said Friday, Jan. 8, 2021, that the rise represented an increase of $15.3 billion, the best showing since June. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)WASHINGTON – U.S. consumer borrowing rose 4.4% in November, its strongest showing in five months, led by strong gains in auto and student loans that offset a drop in credit card borrowing. Consumer borrowing is closely watched for indications of the willingness of households to take on more debt to support their spending, which accounts for 70% of U.S. economic activity. “A weakening labor market will likely weigh on consumer spending and revolving credit growth in the months immediately ahead,” said Nancy Vanden Houten, senior economist at Oxford Economics. The Fed's monthly consumer credit report does not cover home mortgages or any loans secured by real estate, such as home equity loans.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. government's deficit in the first two months of the budget year ran 25.1% higher than the same period a year ago as spending to deal with the COVID pandemic soared while tax revenues fell. The Treasury Department reported Thursday that with two months gone in the budget year, the deficit totaled $429.3 billion, up from $343.3 billion in last year's October-November period. Spending for the first two months of the budget year, which begins Oct. 1, also set a record, while the deficit over the same period was also a record. Without taking into account further relief measures, the Congressional Budget Office has forecast that this year’s deficit will total $1.8 trillion and will remain above $1 trillion each year through 2030. Before last year’s $3.1 trillion deficit, the record-holder was a $1.4 trillion shortfall in 2009, when the government was fighting to lift the country out of a deep recession caused by the 2008 financial crisis.

The October deficit was double the $134.5 billion deficit logged in October 2019. It smashed the previous October record of a $176 billion deficit set in 2009, when the government was spending heavily to lift the country out of a deep recession caused by the 2008 financial crisis. The deficit for the 2020 budget year, which ended Sept. 30, totaled a record $3.1 trillion, breaking the old mark for an annual deficit of $1.4 trillion set in 2009. The Congressional Budget Office is projecting that this year's deficit will remain above the $1 trillion level, coming in at $1.8 trillion, the second largest annual deficit on record but an improvement over the $3.1 trillion set in 2020. For October, spending totaled $521.8 billion, up 37.3% from a year ago and a record for the month.