Janet Yellen, U.S. Treasury Secretary and former Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, believes that the recent improvements in the American economy show that the country has achieved a soft landing. For Yellen, the recent low figures of inflation and the strength of the labor market are signs of this scenario.
Janet Yellen Declares U.S. Economy Reached ‘Soft Landing’ Scenario
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen believes that the U.S. economy has improved during the last six months, declaring that she feels that what they are seeing now can be described as a soft landing, which happens when the measures taken by the Federal Reserve, as interest rate hikes, slow down inflation without causing a recession.
According to Yellen, this is what the Federal Reserve has achieved, taking the latest labor markets and inflation numbers into account. Supporting her statements, Yellen explained that the labor market hadn’t slowed down, with 23 months in a row with the unemployment percentage under 4%, something not seen in 50 years, and 216,000 jobs added in December.
In an X post, Yellen stated:
The American people, workers, and businesses have helped put us on a path to a soft landing. The President’s economic agenda is giving them the tools they need to grow the economy, including historic investments in infrastructure, clean technology, and semiconductors.
Yellen also remarked on the advances that the economic apparatus of the U.S. had reached, achieving a steep inflationary decline during the last six months. However, he acknowledged that there is more to do on the inflationary front concerning housing and food prices, that have remained high. Also, she stated that polls have started to show that Americans are becoming more optimistic about their future.
Yellen’s recent remarks are consistent with her statements from December when she stressed that, even when there was always a recession risk, she didn’t believe it was particularly high at that moment, explaining that people would start feeling better about the economy gradually over time.
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