A recent string of mass layoffs across the U.S. could be the sign that the country’s economy is finally sliding into the recession many feared would hit the nation last year, financial analyst Gary Shilling told Newsweek.
Last year, Shilling said, the U.S. economy avoided a recession primarily because the labor market ran stronger than the Federal Reserve expected. But now, the financial analyst is picking up on clues that the labor market is starting to weaken.
“You had a lot of people that were hired before the pandemic and then, during the pandemic, there was no desire to lay them off,” Shilling told Newsweek. “And so, you haven’t had the weakness in labor markets reflected yet. But if you look at wage increases and other indicators, labor markets are atrophying,” he added. “I think it’s really just a slow but delayed response.”
People walk past the Macy’s store on Herald Square on…
