Yellen: 'You don't have a recession' when U.S. unemployment at 53-year low

Reuters ^ | 2/6/23 | Andrea Shalal

[EBH]

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday said she saw a path for avoiding a U.S. recession, with inflation coming down significantly and the economy remaining strong, given the strength of the U.S. labor market.

"You don't have a recession when you have 500,000 jobs and the lowest unemployment rate in more than 50 years," Yellen told ABC's Good Morning America program.

"What I see is a path in which inflation is declining significantly and the economy is remaining strong."

Yellen said inflation remained too high, but it had been falling for the past six months and could decline significantly given measures adopted by the Biden administration, including steps to reduce the cost of gasoline and prescription drugs.

U.S. Labor Department data released Friday showed job growth accelerated sharply in January, with nonfarm payrolls up by 517,000 jobs and the unemployment rate dropping to a 53-1/2-year low of 3.4%

Yellen told ABC that reducing inflation remained Biden's top priority, but the U.S. economy was proving "strong and resilient."

Three separate pieces of legislation - the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS Act and a massive infrastructure law - would all help drive inflation down, along with a price cap imposed on the cost of Russia oil, she said.

Yellen called on Congress to raise the U.S. debt limit, warning that failure to do so would produce "an economic and financial catastrophe."

"While sometimes we've gone up to the wire, it's something that Congress has always recognized as their responsibility and needs to do again."

[EBH]

When the elite fail to understand that people trying to stay out of poverty, trying to keep their homes, trying to put food on the table, trying to pay utilities are resorting to holding 2-3 jobs to make ends meet demonstrates just how very out of touch they are with the average person's reality.

[FlingWingFlyer]

You do if your so called government is made up of a bunch of freaks and Dung beetles. 53 year low my arse. PROVE IT.

[dragnet2]

This is what electing lawyers turned professional politicians, who’ve never worked in the private sector, gets us.

THESE AH’S CANNONT RELATE TO THE REST OF US.

[SaxxonWoods]

We aren’t in recession, we are in painful inflation.

They are two different things. You’ll notice the difference when we do go into recession, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

[no-to-illegals]

Latest biden administration lie …..

[SaveFerris]

2008 redux

Only worse this time

[Opinionated Blowhard]

The level of workforce participation is still below pre-COVID levels. If a lot of people aren’t looking for work, unemployment remains low.

[ThunderStruck94]

I can’t find a job in North Texas anywhere. Not even Home Depot. The companies say they are hiring, but it is just gaslighting. Their sales are way down and they want current employees to do more with less people but they are telling them no-one will work in order to get them to buy it. I am a recently retired military officer (Navy jet pilot-can’t fly for airlines becasue I can’t get a class 1 medical). I have applies to over 100 positions in the DFW area the past two months and have gotten ZERO callbacks except for a healthcare facility that wanted to pay me $7.25 an hour.

[SaveFerris]

🔝

[RoosterRedux]

Economists live in the past and even then only see the world through their statistics. They are oblivious to the suffering of families and workers.

That's why their forecasts are usually wrong and, when they are correct, it is pure coincidence.

[EBH]

Exactly there is a lot here they are reading wrong. And the more they do this, the more they show how out of touch with the average American they actually are.

[no-to-illegals]

Has anyone seen a listing of what these 500,000 jobs created were ? This article is full of lies.

[donozark]

Transitory employment.

[Dr. Sivana]

I’m in a recession. Laid off in August 2022, over 120 job applications for permanent and contract work for remote or on-site in a city that is economically stable (Phoenix), and no one wants to pull the trigger.

[politicket]

You do when your state that the population actually has a ton more people - then you take that delta, add it in, and pretend like every single one of them of working age is gainfully employed.

They're embarrassing...

[Nuc 1.1]

Exactly my families experience in the Phoenix area. Consider, wokesters are now running HR departments. In addition to the recession, they don’t hire patriots. Good luck.

[frogjerk]

We were in a technical recession last year for 2 quarters - moved out due to government spending which resulted in a GDP for the quarter to be artificially inflated. This is all during a high inflation period. And I think you are right once we dip back into a recession, which will happen because money is drying up and layoffs are increasing, you ain't seen nothing yet.

Yellen has to be the dumbest Treasury Secretary ever.

[CFW]

You do when the government is lying about those job numbers.

I know some people at FR read The Conservative Treehouse/The Last Refuge, but if you don’t check their site daily, and haven’t read this article, you should take the time to do so.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2023/02/04/disconnected-from-reality-bls-employment-report-showing-517000-jobs-gained-in-january-is-laughable/

[Signalman]

Wait till the adjustment figures come out, after the SOTU of course.

“Oh we made a mistake, it wasn’t 500K jobs, it was 50 jobs.”

[Sacajaweau]

Those numbers are like one big non disclosure agreement. They include only people who were looking for work. Many retired or stopped looking. Many took crappy part time jobs.

How about some real numbers.....like how many totally employable are unemployed. Sure as hell, it won't be 5.3%