Bloomberg Surveillance · Friday, August 7, 2026
The latest jobs report, particularly the soft wage growth and job losses, is expected to influence the Federal Reserve's debate, potentially shifting focus away from rate hikes. Economists suggest this data indicates a cooling labor market rather than overheating, which could support the Fed's stance on holding interest rates steady.
“Claudia, this must change the debate at the FED.”
“So first, does this remind you of anything? I mean, a year ago exactly this employment report was when we had the very large downward revision, the downside surprise, the downward revisions, and the BLS commissioner lost her job.”
“The one thing that for the FED that maybe of most interest is wages coming in soft.”
“This is exactly the opposite of overheating. We hadn't seen wage growth really picking up, but we really hadn't seen it slowing down much. And so this really takes like the labor market isn't pushing up inflation, and frankly, if it softens it it might help hold down some of that inflation.”