Although Donald Trump, the presumed Republican nominee for president, called Friday’s worse-than-expected jobs report “horrible,” many analysts saw it as a “Goldilocks” release, suggesting that while it may be poor enough to help contain inflation, it is not particularly alarming overall.
The Federal Reserve’s policy committee has been concentrating more on inflation than job data, analysts noted, as the Federal Open Market Committee attempts to determine whether to begin reducing interest rates. The FOMC will ultimately remain on hold until they have clarity on inflation, according to a note from CIBC senior economist Ali Jaffery.
With Election Day approaching in six months, voters’ top concerns are still inflation and rising costs. As seen in the graphic below, Americans continue to cite inflation or the high cost of living as the biggest financial issue their family is now facing, according to a Gallup poll issued on Thursday.
President Joe Biden has significant challenges as a result of the ongoing concerns over inflation, which are hurting the Democratic incumbent’s popularity.
“Prices are still rising, maybe not as quickly as a year ago, but the Federal Reserve won’t cut interest rates until autumn or later,” stated Greg Valliere, chief U.S. policy strategist at AGF Investments, outlining the major concerns in the presidential contest. “Inflation has not been defeated.”
We are approaching the time of year when public perceptions of the economy typically get more negative, which is typically the summer. This will be yet another albatross for Biden unless inflation sharply declines, Valliere noted in a note.
RealClearPolitics’ betting markets on Friday saw Trump’s chances of winning the White House election slightly higher than Biden’s, at 43.1% as opposed to 42.1%. From April 12 to Wednesday, bettors had favoured Biden; however, as of right now, they are once again giving the former president the advantage.