Methodology
How Read the Delta works.
Data Sources
All economic data on this site comes from official U.S. government sources.
- Jobs Report: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Series: Total Nonfarm Payrolls (CES0000000001), Unemployment Rate (LNS14000000), Average Hourly Earnings (CES0500000003).
- Inflation Report: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Series: Consumer Price Index All Items (CUUR0000SA0), CPI All Items Less Food and Energy (CUUR0000SA0L1E).
Data is retrieved via the BLS Public Data API. No third-party data vendors are used.
Update Cadence
Data is updated within 24 hours of each official release.
- Jobs Report: Typically published on the first Friday of each month at 8:30 AM Eastern.
- Inflation Report: Typically published around the 10th to 13th of each month at 8:30 AM Eastern.
The "Updated" timestamp in the page header reflects when the data was last fetched, not when the BLS published it.
How Changes Are Calculated
All delta values represent simple period-over-period changes.
Jobs Report
- Monthly Job Change: Current month employment level minus prior month employment level.
- Unemployment Rate: Current month rate minus prior month rate.
- Average Hourly Earnings: Current month value minus prior month value.
Inflation Report
- Annual Inflation (CPI YoY): Current month year-over-year rate minus prior month year-over-year rate.
- Monthly Inflation (CPI MoM): Current month-over-month rate minus prior month-over-month rate.
- Core Inflation: Current month core CPI year-over-year rate minus prior month rate.
No seasonal adjustments are applied beyond those already present in the BLS data. No proprietary models or forecasts are used.
What This Site Does Not Do
Read the Delta is a reference tool. It is not:
- A forecasting service
- Investment advice
- A real-time data feed
- A trading signal
The site does not offer analysis, predictions, or recommendations. Editorial content describes what changed. It does not explain why or what may happen next.
Corrections
If the BLS revises previously published data, this site will reflect the revised figures in the next update cycle. Historical revisions are not currently annotated.