Despite a July Commerce Department report showing a second consecutive quarter of negative GDP growth — the classic definition of a recession — Biden administration officials insisted that continued strength in employment data proves otherwise.
The jobs numbers have most certainly been strong. Earlier this month, the Labor Department reported that 528,000 jobs were added to the economy in July, more than double the 258,000 economists had been expecting. This pushed the unemployment rate down to 3.5 percent.
However, a survey of business leaders released by consultant PwC on Thursday, showing that over 50 percent of U.S. corporations are planning either hiring freezes or layoffs in the next year, suggests the robust jobs market may not last. If corporate hiring does indeed contract, by the administration’s own definition, the economy could very well be staring down a recession.
The ONLY reason that people today are still paying for $70 lunches is because they are on vacation. I suspect a very cold and lonely Winter at the beach once they return to work.