{"id":44423,"date":"2024-03-08T17:40:14","date_gmt":"2024-03-08T17:40:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/manitimes.com\/the-jobs-report-comes-as-the-fed-considers-the-timing-of-interest-rate-cuts\/"},"modified":"2024-03-08T17:40:14","modified_gmt":"2024-03-08T17:40:14","slug":"the-jobs-report-comes-as-the-fed-considers-the-timing-of-interest-rate-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/manitimes.com\/the-jobs-report-comes-as-the-fed-considers-the-timing-of-interest-rate-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"The jobs report comes as the Fed considers the timing of interest rate cuts."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

The Federal Reserve is considering when and how much to cut interest rates, and the employment report on Friday will give policymakers an up-to-date hint at how the economy is evolving ahead of their next policy meeting.<\/p>\n

Fed officials meet on March 19-20, and they are widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at that gathering. But investors think that they could begin to lower interest rates as early as June, a view that Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, did little to either strongly confirm or upend during his congressional testimony this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re waiting to become more confident that inflation is moving sustainably to 2 percent,\u201d Mr. Powell told lawmakers on Thursday. \u201cWhen we do get that confidence, and we\u2019re not far from it, it will be appropriate to dial back the level of restriction.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Fed is primarily watching progress on inflation as it contemplates its next steps, but it is also keeping an eye on the labor market. If job growth is strong and the labor market is so robust that wages rise quickly, that could keep price increases higher for longer as companies try to cover their costs. On the other hand, if the job market begins to slow sharply, that could nudge Fed officials toward earlier interest rate cuts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n