economics · education

Unemployment and Inflation — Phillips Curve

This short-run Phillips curve provides a simple visual for discussing inflation and unemployment. In the basic model, lower unemployment can coincide with higher inflation and higher unemployment can coincide with lower inflation. The chart is useful because it makes the direction of the short-run relationship easy to discuss. It should not be read as a permanent or mechanical trade-off. Expectations, supply shocks, productivity, labor-market changes and policy all affect observed outcomes. For that reason, the graph works best as an introduction to a model and as a starting point for explaining why real economic data can move differently over time.

Type econ-phillipsEngine econ-phillipsUpdated 9/24/2026

Short-Run Phillips Curve

Drawing preview

The request

“Create a short-run Phillips curve titled Short-Run Phillips Curve showing inflation against unemployment.”

Then tryAdd a label for a supply shock.Change the title to Eastport inflation and unemployment.

What is in this drawing

Read the decisions behind it.

01Time frame

state that the relationship is short run.

02Axes

compare inflation and unemployment.

03Interpretation

avoid treating it as a fixed policy menu.

Use it for conceptual discussions of short-run macroeconomic trade-offs.

More like this

Other examples in this family.

Drawing preview

Urban garden production possibility curveeconomicsOpen →

Drawing preview

Eastport Economy — AD-AS ModeleconomicsOpen →

Drawing preview

Harbor Bakery PPF — Loaves and CakeseconomicsOpen →

Browse all economics graph templates →

FAQ

Common questions

What does the Phillips curve show?

It shows a modeled short-run relationship between inflation and unemployment.

Is the trade-off permanent?

No. Expectations and supply-side changes can shift or weaken the observed relationship.

Why use a short-run label?

It clarifies that the simple downward relationship is not assumed to hold unchanged over all time periods.