Minneapolis Fed president explains why economists likely overshot on April jobs report
Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari doesn't think people should "overreact" to the disappointing April jobs report, but he acknowledged the "bottom line" is that "we are still somewhere between 8 and 10 million jobs below where we were before" the coronavirus pandemic struck. "We still are in a deep hole," he told CBS News' John Dickerson on Sunday's edition of Face the Nation. "And we still need to do everything we can to put those folks back to work more quickly."
APRIL JOBS NUMBERS: “We shouldn’t overreact to any one report,” Minneapolis Fed President @neelkashkari says, emphasizing that there are 8 million fewer jobs today than before the pandemic. pic.twitter.com/oNuYnNC8tl
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) May 9, 2021
So how did economists' predictions miss by so much? Kashkari explained that the pandemic "is unlike any other shock in our lifetimes" because the economic recovery relies so heavily on individuals' assessments of personal safety. "It's very hard to model that out," Kashkari said, noting that people have spent so much time "conditioning" themselves to take precautions. Now, though, "we have to start to change what we've been telling people," he said, agreeing with an earlier point from former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. "People feeling safe about the virus" will ultimately drive the economic recovery, Kashkari said.
Economists previously forecast 1 million jobs would be created in April. Why the big miss? “This is unlike any other economic shock in any of our lifetimes,” @neelkashkari says. “This is very different from the financial crisis.” pic.twitter.com/BaKS7NxvW2
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) May 9, 2021
More stories from theweek.com
5 scathingly funny cartoons about anti-vaxxers jeopardizing herd immunity
The collapse of the GOP? It's just wishful thinking
Doomsday for bad bosses
