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Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin said Tuesday recent data is “consistent” with an economy that is not in a recession.
“A month or two ago, the debate was whether we were in a recession or not, I don’t think that’s the debate today,” Barkin told Yahoo Finance Live in an exclusive interview. “The job market is still very tight.”
On Tuesday morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported American employers sought to fill 11.2 million job openings in July, marking an increase over the prior month.
The figures illustrate a job market that broadly favors workers, as the high number of vacancies gives workers options to find better jobs. Businesses, meanwhile, continue to have difficulty staffing at levels that meet current demand for their goods and services.
Barkin added that skilled-trade careers — like carpenters, nurses, and truck drivers — appear to be among the fields with the strongest hiring needs.
“People are still trying to work through the issues that we’ve been working with over the last year,” Barkin said. “Labor market, supply chain, and of course, pricing.”
The Richmond Fed chief added that the status quo has not substantially changed on inflation either, where prices remain 8.5% higher than they were a year ago.