- Forecasters have consistently underestimated how willing U.S. consumers are to spend their money regardless of high prices and interest rates pressuring household budgets.
- Hotter-than-expected consumer spending has kept the economy growing, boosted the job market, and stoked inflation beyond expectations.
- Consumers are apparently not cutting back on things like dining out, defying the expectations built into economic models that people will behave rationally.
The U.S. economy keeps defying expectations.
In the past month, employers have added more jobs than forecasters expected, consumers have spent more, the economy has grown more, and businesses have raised prices more. Report after report shows the economy running hotter than expected, with people generally spending more money and doing more stuff than economists thought they would.
While it’s not unusual for economic…
