Sahm Sees US ‘Uncomfortably Close’ to Recession, Not in One Yet
- Sahm says Fed is deliberate, but shifts tack when it needs to
- The good thing is that the Fed has space to do ‘quite a bit’
A television displays stock market news on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Aug. 5.
Photographer: Michael Nagle/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Former Federal Reserve economist Claudia Sahm said that while the US isn’t yet in a recession, it’s “uncomfortably close,” and predicted central bank policymakers may recalibrate their approach to take account of increasing risks.
“This increase in the unemployment rate has been, in the past, consistent with ‘early in recession,’” Sahm said on Bloomberg Television’s Bloomberg Surveillance program, referring to the unexpected climb in the jobless rate seen in Friday’s July employment report. “We might not be there, but we’re getting uncomfortably close to that situation.”