Fed’s Bostic: US Job Market in a ‘Jumble,’ but Economy on Firm Footing

Fed’s Bostic: US Job Market in a ‘Jumble,’ but Economy on Firm Footing
A Now Hiring near the entrance to a Ross department store in Hallandale, Fla., on Sept. 21, 2021. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Reuters
Updated:

WASHINGTON—The U.S. labor market is in a “jumble” as workers sort out child care and navigate an ongoing pandemic, but the country remains on track for a full recovery, Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic said on Tuesday.

“There is a lot of shuffle and a lot of jumble and a lot of turbulence” as people juggle family responsibilities with a return to work, companies turn to automation amid labor shortages, and the coronavirus crisis continues, Bostic said in comments to the Mid-Size Bank Coalition of America. “But at the end of the day the trajectory of the economy is solid. My models and the data I am seeing suggest we are on firm footing towards a full recovery and momentum is going to continue strong even amidst the rise of Delta.”