When the September employment situation report is released Friday, one number will loom large, and it won't be the number of new payroll jobs, expected by economists surveyed by Bloomberg to be about 113,000, and it won't be the unemployment rate, expected to be 8.1 percent. Instead, it will be 386,000, which is the number of jobs added to the nation's payrolls, not by employers, but by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in its annual ""benchmarking"" of payroll data.

Consumer spending rose $57.2 billion, 0.1 percent, in August but personal income improved just $15 billion, 0.5 percent, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Friday. While the increase in spending matched economist expectations, the increase in incomes was half of what had been forecast.

After reaching a two-year high in July, the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) fell in August to 99.2, the lowest level since April, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 102.2. The index fell in three of the four Census regions. PHSI data are generally reflected in the report on existing home sales two months out, meaning the August PHSI points to weaker homes sales reported for October.

Real gross domestic product - the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States - increased at an annual rate of 1.3 percent in the second quarter of 2012, down sharply from the 1.7 percent growth rate reported one month ago, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday. In the first quarter, real GDP increased 2.0 percent.

Shaking off the effects of Hurricane Isaac, first-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 26,000 to 359,000 for the week ended September 22, the Labor Department reported Thursday, far below market expectations.

U.S. home prices continued to increase in July, according to Case-Shiller, with its 20-city index up 1.6 percent from June and the 10-city index up 1.5 percent. The 10- city index rose to its highest level since November 2010 and the 20-city index to the highest level since October 2010. Price rose month-month in all of the 20 cities. Year-year, the 10-city index was up 0.6 percent and the 20-city index rose 1.2 percent. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected the 20 city index to increase 1.7 percent from June and 1.2 percent from July 2011.

Despite a $355 billion increase in the value of household real estate, household net worth fell $322 billion in the second quarter, the Federal Reserve reported Thursday in its quarterly Flow of Funds report. And, while the value of owner-occupied household real estate increased in the second quarter, total residential mortgage debt fell almost $51 billion. As a result, owners' equity increased just over $406 billion and owners' equity as percentage of the value of the real estate rose to 43.1 percent, the highest level since Q2 2008, according to the report.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 3,000 to 382,000 for the week ended September 15, the Labor Department reported Thursday, topping market expectations. The previous week's report was revised upward to 385,000 first time claims from the originally reported 382,000 which, the department said, included 9,000 claims attributable to hurricane Isaac.

Existing home sales rose 7.8 percent to 4.82 million in August the highest level since May 2010 the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday. The median price of an existing single-family home in August was $187,400, down $400 from July but up $16,200 or 9.5 percent since August 2011.

Single family starts increased 28,000 in August to 535,000, the highest level since April 2010, the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported jointly Wednesday. Despite the increase total, housing starts improved just 17,000 as multi-family starts fell.