Bad news:

Applications for unemployment benefits climbed to 428,000 in the week ended Sept. 10 from an upwardly revised 417,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said.

Exacerbating the problem is the rise in headline inflation:

The Labor Department said its Consumer Price Index increased 0.4 percent last month, after rising 0.5 percent in July. The reading was higher than the 0.2 percent rise expected, with food prices posting their biggest gain since March. Gasoline prices climbed 1.9 percent after jumping 4.7 percent the prior month. Food prices rose 0.5 percent after increasing 0.4 percent in July.

This is bad because the folks that want Austerity Now! get to yell Inflation! The reality is that core inflation is 2% due to slack demand. But energy and food prices go up more because demand for these items is inelastic. This is a toxic brew of economic news. Things are looking bleaker.