Whitehouse Struggles to Spin Failing Economy

President Joe Biden and the White House are attempting a delicate messaging pivot: alert the public that the economy is slowing but simultaneously persuade them that this is a good thing.

The message is right, according to analysts and Wall Street investors.

Slower job and wage growth might help to reduce inflation and alleviate pressure on the Fed to hike interest rates even faster.

It’s not the easiest thing to communicate to folks who are already dissatisfied about pricing as the midterm elections approach and Democrats fear being overwhelmed by Americans’ pessimism about the economy.

According to Drew Matus, a market analyst at MetLife Investment Management, “There’s no doubt you’d prefer to see the jobs figures fall a little so the Fed isn’t driven into larger rate rises. However, it has a ‘be cautious what you wish for’ feel to it. You wouldn’t want it to slow down excessively or in the incorrect places,” 

The ideal condition, according to many economists and Wall Street traders, would have robust but not spectacular job growth, more people entering the labor market, and less pressure on businesses to boost pay quickly to attract or keep workers.

A gain of around 300,000 projected in Friday’s report would put them in the top place. Investors would be anxious if the price moved much higher or down.

It might imply that the economy is either overheating and the Fed has to move more swiftly, or that it is rapidly slowing.

Nevertheless, it’s difficult to convey the nuanced argument that everything is OK as long as employment expands and the market is stable if you’re in the White House.

Any evidence of employment creation slowing, according to the president, would indicate that the US economy has completely transitioned into the next stages of recovery.

Other top White House officials are supporting the same notion in public and private.