A+ A-

US economy not in recession, inflation "way too high" - Treasury Sec.

WASHINGTON, July 24 (KUNA) -- US Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen reiterated Sunday that the US economy is not in recession but that the inflation is "way too high." Yellen told NBC network that "the labor market is now extremely strong. Even just during the last three months, job gains averaged 375,000. This is not an economy that's in recession." She continued "but we're in a period of transition in which growth is slowing and that's necessary and appropriate and we need to be growing at a steady and sustainable pace." "So there is a slowdown and businesses can see that and that's appropriate, given that people now have jobs and we have a strong labor market," she added.
She stressed that "a recession is a broad-based contraction that affects many sectors of the economy, we just don't have that." She acknowledged that "inflation is way too high. And, you know, the Fed (Federal Reserve) is charged with putting in place policies that will bring inflation down and I expect them to be successful." "I'm not saying that we will definitely avoid a recession," Yellen noted. "But I think there is a path that keeps the labor market strong and brings inflation down." The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates by 0.75 percentage point at its meeting this week. (end) si.ibi