5. The current state of the business cycle The government publishes unemployment and inflation data monthly (www.bls.gov) and data on economic growth on a quarterly basis (www.bea.gov). What changes have there been? What is happening to the employment rate? Are the employment and unemployment rates moving in the same direction or in opposite directions? What is the current rate of inflation? Is it increasng, decreasing, or staying the same? Judging from available data, in which phase of the business cycle does the economy appear to be now? Use the data you find to update relevant figures in this chapter