If you’re confused about the economy right now, you’re in good company. Experts are also grappling with conflicting indicators, imperfect data and flashing caution signs.
By some indicators, things seem to be going well. The stock market is up and rising. Unemployment – though ticking up – remains very low.
Yet by others, it could look like we’re heading for a downturn. Consumer sentiment is relatively low, consumer debt is high and stubborn inflation hasn’t budged much.
The state of the economy right now is “highly uncertain,” said Mark Gertler, economics professor at New York University. “It’s growing at a kind of modest growth rate, but there’s lots of uncertainty to play out.”
Put another way, nearly every metric economists use to determine the strength of the economy “is somewhere between moderately concerning” and “virtually…
