Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday in an exclusive interview with CNN that she did not see signs of a recession in the near term as the US economy rebounded from six months of contraction.
During a one-on-one interview in Ohio that aired on CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront,” Yellen said the third quarter GDP data released Thursday underscored the strength of the US economy as policy makers urgently move to cool off pervasive and soaring inflation that has had a sharp effect on American views of the economy – and endangered the Democratic majorities on Capitol Hill less than two weeks from the midterm elections.
“Look, what we’re seeing right now is solid growth this quarter. Growth has obviously slowed following a very rapid recovery from high unemployment,” Yellen said when asked about whether the latest GDP data assuaged any recession concerns. “We’re at a full employment economy. It’s very natural that growth would slow. And it has over the first three quarters of this year, but it continues to be OK. We have a very strong labor market. I don’t see signs of a recession in this economy at this point.”
Yellen’s optimism comes amid growing concern from economists and finance officials that a recession is likely at some point in the next year, but was based in part on elements of the latest data that showed signs a necessary slowdown in key areas of the economy leaves open a pathway to a “soft landing” as the Federal Reserve prepares to continue its rapid pace of rate increases. #PhilMattingly #erinburnettoutfront #CNN
