America's so-so economy
America Is Stuck In An Agonizing Limbo — And It's Driving Everyone Nuts
The job market is getting weaker, and the economy feels trapped in limbo. Americans hate it.
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The Lede
The economy's not bad, but the overall situation is increasingly frustrating. As much as the inflation rate has fallen, 2019 prices aren't coming back. The Federal Reserve is going to start to cut interest rates soon and deliver some relief, but if you're considering buying a new house or car, you're probably still better off waiting. The same goes for switching jobs — given the state of the labor market, it's best to stay where you are, especially for the white-collar crowd.
Key Details
- "There's a little bit of collective breath-holding," said Allison Shrivastava, an associate economist at Indeed. "Are we going to stick this landing, or are things going to continue in a downward trend?"
- The economy added 142,000 jobs in August, and the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.2 percent. That's an improvement over July's 4.3 percent unemployment rate, but overall, the jobs market is cooling off.
- Consumer sentiment is better than it was in mid-2022, but it's still below its historical average.
