The Daily Money: US adds 311,000 jobs in February, stoking recession fears
Happy Friday, Daily Money readers. It’s Bailey Schulz here to bring you the day’s top stories.
The Labor Department released the latest jobs report today, revealing that the U.S. is still adding too many jobs for the Federal Reserve's liking.
Employers added 311,000 jobs last month – a slowdown from January but still large enough to raise concerns that the Fed will accelerate interest rate hikes to fight inflation. Economists had been forecasting 225,000 job gains.
The unemployment rate rose from a 54-year low of 3.4% to 3.6%.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said earlier that today’s report would be critical in setting the Fed’s course, stoking fears that aggressive rate hikes could trigger a recession later this year.
But will it really?
But it seems as though economists are constantly saying there will be a recession in six months, and it hasn't panned out yet.
All the job gains have forecasters upgrading their outlook for the economy and pushing back estimates for a recession start time.
Fifty-eight percent of economists say there’s more than a 50% chance of a downturn in the next 12 months, according to a panel of 48 forecasters surveyed Feb. 3-10 by the National Association of Business Economics.
But just 28% expect the slump to begin in this quarter, compared with 52% who held that view in December. Instead, 33% predict a recession will start in the second quarter and another 21% say it will begin in the third quarter.
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🍔 Today's Menu 🍔
Scrambled eggs, French toast and a blueberry muffin served about 35,000 feet in the air.
Delta is bringing back its kids menu next month, which will offer a variety of options for picky eaters. The dishes were put on pause earlier in the pandemic.
Along with the breakfast menu, the airline will have a lunch and dinner kids special with cheese tortellini with marinara sauce and parmesan. The meals will be available in all cabins on long-haul international flights and in first class on most domestic routes.
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Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer news from Paste BN. We break down financial news and provide the TLDR version: how decisions by the Federal Reserve, government and companies impact you.