Friday, June 13, 2014

Almost back to (the new) normal?

Torsten Slok of Deutsche Bank Research sends along the above graphic.  At face value, it indicates the labor market is almost back to normal. If so, this fact suggests that the Fed may soon need to back off its policy of near zero interest rates, and that the slow pace of economic growth experienced in recent years reflects slow growth in potential due to adverse structural forces rather than inadequate aggregate demand.