The recent news that the jobless rate in the United States rose to 3.9 percent, higher than what economists had predicted, has put pressure on the Federal Reserve. This increase was reported by the Labor Department shortly after a Federal Reserve committee decided not to cut interest rates. Joseph Gaffoglio, president of Mutual of America Capital Management, believes that this slower jobs report could be seen positively by the Fed.
However, the Fed’s caution about cutting interest rates continues to put pressure on the job market. The Fed has been careful not to cut rates too soon in order to prevent inflation from becoming an issue. In March, prices were up 3.5 percent compared to a year earlier, which is further away from the Fed’s inflation target than at the end of last year.
A recent CNN poll revealed that only 34 percent of voters approve of President Biden’s handling of the economy and 29 percent approve of his handling of inflation. Additionally, voters perceive former President Trump, who is presumed to be the Republican presidential nominee in 2024, as being better suited for managing the economy than Biden.
As we approach closer to the 2024 election, there has been increasing scrutiny on both President Biden and his economic policies as well as on how he handles inflation and interest rate cuts by Federal Reserve Banking Committee (FRBC). Taylor Giorno from The Hill has more information on this topic.