WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBC) – April jobs numbers out Friday are better than expected but still the economy faces major headwinds of stubborn inflation and bank stress.
President Biden is meeting with his economic cabinet as he grapples with another possible economic calamity: the fast-approaching June 1st debt ceiling deadline.
President Biden celebrated the stronger-than-expected jobs report. “We obviously have more work to do, but we’re trending in the right direction,” he said.
U.S. employers added 253,000 jobs to the economy in April the unemployment rate at 3.4% tied for the lowest level since 1969.
The jobs market has largely held steady despite layoffs in some sectors, turmoil in the banking industry, stubbornly-high inflation, and the looming debt ceiling fight.
As the nation careens toward a catastrophic default on its loans by as soon as June 1st, President Biden blames House Republicans.
Biden said, “They are trying to hold the debt hostage for us to agree to some draconian cuts.”
While the president wants separate negotiations on the debt limit and budget cuts, GOP leaders insist the time is now to tackle government overspending even rejecting a short-term extension.
Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) said, “That’s not negotiation in good faith, that’s kicking the can further down the road and hoping that the political winds change a little bit.”
In a push to break the stalemate, top congressional leaders will join President Biden for a debt ceiling debate on Tuesday as experts warn the nation’s credit rating could see a costly downgrade, even if we avoid default.
President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget Maya MacGuineas said, “The risk is that it demonstrates our political system is so broken at this point, that we’re even getting close to it.”
With the state of the economy under threat, Americans are feeling the pain and looking to their leaders to make it right.
There is a lot riding on next week’s debt ceiling meeting at the White House.
Top economic officials have repeatedly warned that going into default would raise costs for businesses and families and increase the risk of a recession.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.