Editorial Board
Bernanke’s Helpful Reminder, One Job Jump Isn’t a Recovery: View
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Feb. 7 (Bloomberg) - Last week’s encouraging news on jobs hasn’t much changed the Federal Reserve’s sobering assessment of the U.S. economy. That was Chairman Ben Bernanke’s to Congress today.
Bernanke is right. One month’s numbers do not make a recovery, and the economy still faces severe difficulties. Recent indicators have been mixed. It’s good that employers added 243,000 jobs last month, and that the unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent. Manufacturing growth picked up in January, too. But consumer confidence slipped. The housing market is still on its back. The Fed has lowered its forecast for growth this year and still thinks downside risks outweigh the upside.