Yellen says US economy is in ‘soft landing’

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Friday the U.S. economy is achieving a “soft landing” as inflation continues to ease without showing signs of a significant economic downturn.

“What we’re seeing now I think we can describe as a soft landing, and my hope is that it will continue,” Yellen said in an interview on CNN.

“The American people did it,” she added. “The American people go to work every day, participate in the labor market, form new businesses. But President Biden has tried to create incentives that give Americans the tools they need to help this economy grow.”

Yellen’s comments came shortly after the release of a surprisingly strong December jobs report.

The U.S. added 216,000 jobs in the final month of 2023 and kept the jobless rate at 3.7 percent, far exceeding the expectations of economists.

Despite the latest positive jobs numbers, Biden is struggling to overcome Americans’ largely negative sentiments toward the economy as the 2024 presidential election looms at the end of the year.

He appeared to hint at Americans’ frustration with the state of the economy in his statement about the December jobs report on Friday.

“I won’t stop fighting for American workers and American families,” the president said. “I know that some prices are still too high for too many Americans, and I am doing everything in my power to lower everyday costs for hard-working Americans.”

Updated at 11:44 a.m.