The public remains anxious about what’s ahead.
The economy is still on solid footing and the public still isn’t giving President Joe Biden much credit.
The Labor Department on Friday announced that 187,000 jobs were added to the economy in July. While that figure fell short of forecasts — the employment estimates from May and June were also revised down by a combined 49,000 — the unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent and wage growth accelerated.
Friday’s middle-of-the-road report reflects a gradual unwinding of tight labor conditions that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says has helped keep prices elevated despite a rapid escalation in borrowing costs. It’s also a sign the Fed could still achieve the nigh-impossible “soft landing” — taming inflation without sending the economy into a tailspin. Big banks and Wall Street economists are increasingly bullish on the possibility.
The Fed will face another major decision on rates at its September meeting. While there are clear signs that prices aren’t spiking as quickly, and that the economy can avoid a recession, Powell warned in a press conference last week that the central bank had “a long way to go.” Fed policymakers are also projecting unemployment to climb as they continue those efforts.
“The labor market data has been on a glide path to a soft landing the last several months, and today’s report continues us down that path,” Omair Sharif, president of Inflation Insights, said in a research note on Friday.
