Yellen says U.S. economy remains solid, on path to 'soft landing' with no meaningful layoffs

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U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen speaks listens to a presumption during a circuit astatine the IRS Processing Facility connected September 06, 2024 successful Austin, Texas. 

Brandon Bell | Getty Images

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sought to reassure the nationalist connected Saturday that the U.S. system remains strong, contempt a drawstring of anemic occupation reports that person rattled investors and weighed connected the banal market.

"We're seeing little frenzy successful presumption of hiring and occupation openings, but we're not seeing meaningful layoffs," Yellen said astatine the Texas Tribune Festival successful Austin. "I'm attentive to downside hazard present connected the employment side, but what I deliberation we're seeing, and anticipation we volition proceed to see, is simply a good, coagulated economy."

Yellen said occupation maturation has slowed compared to the "hiring frenzy" erstwhile the U.S. reopened aft the Covid-19 pandemic, but the system is "deep into a recovery" and "basically operating astatine afloat employment."

The treasury secretary's comments travel a time aft the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported different period of cooler-than-expected jobs data.

Nonfarm payrolls, a measurement of U.S. occupation creation, accrued by 142,000 successful August, little than the Dow Jones forecast of 161,000. The miss renewed worries astir a slowing labour market, with the S&P 500 falling Friday to decorativeness retired the worst week since March 2023.

The unemployment rate, however, edged little to 4.2% and occupation maturation successful August was higher than July. The banal marketplace sold disconnected steeply aboriginal past month, aft the anemic July study touched disconnected renewed fears of a recession successful the U.S.

Yellen connected Saturday tried to calm jitters astir the authorities of the economy: "I don't spot reddish lights flashing."

The jobs information has raised worries astir whether the Federal Reserve tin clinch a alleged "soft landing," raising involvement rates to bring ostentation nether power and past executing cuts earlier the system enters a recession. The Fed is wide expected to little involvement rates this month.

Yellen said the U.S. is connected that path: "It truly has been astonishing to beryllium capable to get ostentation down arsenic meaningfully arsenic we have. This is what astir radical would telephone the brushed landing," she said.

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