President Joe Biden says the economy is on the “right path” despite having two consecutive quarters of negative growth.
In a statement on Thursday, Biden said, “Coming off of last year’s historic economic growth – and regaining all the private sector jobs lost during the pandemic crisis – it’s no surprise that the economy is slowing down as the Federal Reserve acts to bring down inflation.”
He continued:
“But even as we face historic global challenges, we are on the right path and we will come through this transition stronger and more secure. Our job market remains historically strong, with unemployment at 3.6% and more than 1 million jobs created in the second quarter alone. Consumer spending is continuing to grow.”
Finally, Biden said, “My economic plan is focused on bringing inflation down, without giving up all the economic gains we have made.”
Read the statement below:
Biden issues new statement after the GDP report showed a second straight quarter of decline:
— Shelby Talcott (@ShelbyTalcott) July 28, 2022
"It's no surprise that the economy is slowing down as the Federal Reserve acts to bring down inflation. But even as we face historic global challenges, we are on the right path…" pic.twitter.com/qWrP4sOUUN
On Thursday morning, the latest gross domestic product (GDP) report found that the economy shrank 0.9% in the last three months — marking the second consecutive quarter of negative economic growth.
NPR notes that a recession is often marked by two negative GDP reports in a row. However, it points out, “It’s not an official definition.”
The latest GDP data sparked further concerns that the U.S. is either already in a recession or heading toward one.
However, speaking to reporters earlier this week, Biden said, “We’re not going to be in a recession, in my view.”
He went on, “My hope is we’ll go from this rapid growth to steady growth, and so we’ll see some coming down. But I don’t think, God willing, I don’t think we’re going to see a recession.”
Watch the video below:
BIDEN: "God willing, I don't think we're going to see a recession." pic.twitter.com/jFvcO8ix6a
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 25, 2022
In a handout released last week, the White House said, “While some maintain that two consecutive quarters of falling real GDP constitute a recession, that is neither the official definition nor the way economists evaluate the state of the business cycle.”
“Instead, both official determinations of recessions and economists’ assessment of economic activity are based on a holistic look at the data—including the labor market, consumer and business spending, industrial production, and incomes,” it continued. “Based on these data, it is unlikely that the decline in GDP in the first quarter of this year—even if followed by another GDP decline in the second quarter—indicates a recession.”
Finally, it stated, “Recession probabilities are never zero, but trends in the data through the first half of this year used to determine a recession are not indicating a downturn.”
