Secretary Janet Yellen Warns Recession Isn’t ‘Off the Table’

We’re not out of the recession woods yet, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

While appearing on CBS’s Face the Nation, Yellen said a recession is “not completely off the table” following the weakest jobs report since December 2020. However, she said a decline in the labor market was to be expected.

In June, U.S. employers added 209,000 jobs, more than 100,000 less than May’s reported addition of 339,000 jobs, per The New York Times.

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Although this decline seems to spell bad news, Yellen says it’s a reflection of the country’s strong rebound after the Covid-19 pandemic.

“When the pandemic struck, there was huge job loss and a contraction in our economy. And as recovery took place, due to President Biden’s economic policies and success with our vaccination effort, there was a very rapid, dramatic rebound, [and] the labor market recovered,” Yellen said in the interview, adding, “And now growth has slowed somewhat back to more normal levels.”

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With the monthly jobs gains returning to normal levels, Yellen said, “It’s my hope that, and belief, that there is a path to bring inflation down in the context of a healthy labor market, and the data that I’ve seen suggests we’re on that path,” per The Hill.