Economics Correspondent
Dana Okonkwo covers labor markets, inflation and the federal statistical agencies that produce the data underpinning both.
Her reporting pays particular attention to revisions and to participation-rate effects, on the principle that a headline print is often the least informative number in a release.
She previously covered municipal finance and public pension funding.
The unemployment rate slipped to 4.1% even as employers cut positions, a combination driven by workers leaving the labor force rather than by strength in hiring.
By Dana Okonkwo · Aug. 24, 2026