The red-hot labor market is refusing to cool down, showing the remarkable resilience of President Joe Biden’s economy but also making the Federal Reserve’s battle to curb inflation that much harder.
The U.S. economy added 339,000 jobs in May, blowing through Wall Street’s expectations that employment growth would slow as higher borrowing costs and tighter credit conditions take hold.“The labor market and the economy it supports will just not go gently into that good night, despite policy efforts to cool both,” said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM, after the Labor Department released the report.
The labor market’s continued strength gives Biden a much-needed boost as he enters the 2024 presidential campaign against a backdrop of lingering pessimism and economic uncertainty. Even with unemployment near record lows, fears of a recession — which swelled after three regional banks collapsed amid surging interest rates — have dogged the White House’s attempts to spotlight the economy’s underlying strength.
