Journal Article

Introducing New Monthly Estimates of the Natural Rate of Interest and Natural Unemployment Rate


Abstract: Policymakers reference the natural rate of interest (r*) to judge the tightness of monetary policy and the natural unemployment rate (u*) to gauge whether the economy is near full employment. Most estimates of these measures use quarterly data and are only updated four times per year. We introduce new monthly measures of r* and u*—the KC Fed Model-Based Natural Rate of Interest and Natural Unemployment Rate—to provide more timely data on the tightness of labor markets and stance of monetary policy.

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Bibliographic Information

Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

Part of Series: Economic Bulletin

Publication Date: 2026-02-02

Pages: 3