Janet Yellen says she sees no indicators of a recession despite two earlier spells of negative growth

Despite the nation’s witnessing two first-quarter drops, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen does not believe a recession is imminent.

Real gross domestic product, a measure of the nation’s total economic production, climbed by 2.6% in the third quarter despite a decrease of 1.6% in the first and a decrease of 0.6% in the second.

Some experts, notably Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon and JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon, anticipate a recession within the next year due to rising inflation rates, growing living expenses, and rising mortgage rates.

Yellen stated that despite the fact that ‘inflation is really high – it’s unacceptably high and Americans feel it every day’, the US economy remains robust.

She stated, “If you look around the world, there are many economies that are suffering from not only high inflation but also very poor economic performance, and the United States stands out.”

“The jobless rate is at a 50-year low… The data released this morning revealed that consumer expenditure and investment spending continued to increase. We have healthy personal finances, business finances, and well-capitalized banks.

This is not a recessionary economy, and we continue to prosper.

President Joe Biden was among the first to applaud the latest economic expansion.

Biden stated in a statement, “For months, pessimists have argued that the US economy is in a recession, and congressional Republicans have been hoping for a slump.”

‘However, today we received additional indications that our economic recovery is proceeding apace,’ he continued.

In his remarks, Biden also claimed responsibility for the decline in gas prices, which have dropped from their June heights of more than $5 per gallon to a national average of $3.79 as of this week.

Biden stated, “Now, we need to make greater progress on our top economic challenge: reducing high prices for American people.”

However, experts have expressed concern that the economy is on fragile foundation and uncertainty that the most recent GDP figure indicates solid growth.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told NPR, “If you take a step back and look at GDP, it has essentially remained flat over the past year.”

‘One or two quarters, it’s down a bit. This quarter it is a bit higher. However, we are essentially treading water,’ he remarked.

Yellen believes that the present government has received insufficient credit for its efforts to turn around the economy.

She stated, “There were a number of obstacles we may have encountered, as well as difficulties that many American families could have encountered.”

“Because of what the Biden administration has done, we no longer have these challenges. Consequently, one is frequently not given credit for problems that do not exist.

In addition to heaping plaudits on the administration, Yellen stated that’real tangible investments are occurring right now,’ such as a new $20 billion Intel factory south of Columbus, Ohio.

She emphasized that the nation’s infrastructure is also expanding.

Yellen stated, “But you’re beginning to see rebuilt bridges come online — not in every municipality, but shortly.”

“Roads will be renovated in a number of localities, and crumbling bridges will be rebuilt. Money is flowing into research and development, which is an essential source of long-term economic strength for the United States.

“And America’s power will improve, and our economy will become more competitive,”

The most recent GDP data revealed that increased exports and stable consumer spending, bolstered by a robust labor market, helped revive economic growth in the United States.

Consumer spending, which accounts for around 70 percent of economic activity in the United States, increased at a rate of 1.4 percent annually, down from a rate of 2 percent from April through June. Exports, which increased at an annual rate of 14.4 percent, also contributed to last quarter’s rise.

Housing investment, on the other hand, fell at a rate of 26% annually, as mortgage rates soared and the Federal Reserve raised borrowing costs to combat persistent inflation.

This year, the Fed has increased interest rates five times and will do so again next week and in December.

Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell has cautioned that the Fed’s rate hikes will cause “pain” in the form of increased unemployment and possibly a recession.

In September, core inflation, which includes volatile food and energy costs, reached a four-decade high of 6.6 percent. Overall inflation remains stubbornly high at 8.2 percent.

Biden praises his “historic economic turnaround” and criticizes “doomsayers.”

Biden delivered the following remark after the preliminary GDP data revealed that the US economy expanded by 2.6% in the third quarter:

‘For months, pessimists have argued that the US economy is in a recession, and Republicans in Congress have been rooting for one. Today, however, we received additional evidence that our economic recovery is continuing to advance. This demonstrates the tenacity of the American people. As I have already stated, it is never wise to wager against the American people. Our economy has produced 10 million jobs, unemployment is at a 50-year low, and manufacturing in the United States is thriving. The statistics presented today indicates that in the third quarter, Americans’ incomes increased and inflation decreased.

Now, we must make more strides in addressing our foremost economic challenge: lowering prices for American households. Even with our historic economic rebound, gas prices have decreased by $1.26 throughout the summer and over the past three weeks. The most typical price per gallon at gas stations in the United States today is $3.39. This is a step in the right direction, but we must do more to reduce the cost of other items. My administration has passed legislation that will reduce the cost of prescription drugs and health insurance premiums beginning the following year. We must do more.

‘Republicans in Congress have a fundamentally different agenda, one that will increase inflation and increase the deficit by slashing taxes on the wealthiest Americans and huge corporations. Families in the United States would pay more for prescription medicines, health care, and energy. This failed economic model is not the way to provide working families more breathing room and build the economy so they can advance.