Yellen says economy shows no signs of recession

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday that growing consumer spending, industrial output, credit quality and other economic indicators don’t suggest the economy is in a recession, although she acknowledged that “way too high” inflation is straining the system.

“This is not an economy that is in recession,” Yellen told moderator Chuck Todd on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” 

Businesses and consumers are seeing the economy slow after a rapid growth spurt last year, which brought the labor market back to life after the COVID-19 pandemic, the secretary said. But this transitional slowdown is “necessary and appropriate” given the rapid changes.

“You don’t see any of the signs. Now, a recession is a broad-based contraction that affects many sectors of the economy. We just don’t have that,” Yellen said, but she acknowledged the impacts of uncommonly high inflation numbers.