Fed's Goolsbee opposes aggressive rate cuts, stating that a slowdown in employment does not equal recession.

[Fed's Goolsbee Opposes Aggressive Rate Cuts, Says Slowing Employment Does Not Equal Recession] According to the Financial Times, Fed's Goolsbee has warned against a series of rate cuts, stating that the sharp slowdown in the labor market does not mean an economic recession is imminent. Goolsbee supported a 25 basis point rate cut at last week's Federal Open Market Committee meeting. However, he recently indicated that he may be less inclined to support further cuts in the upcoming policy vote. He stated, "I am concerned about over-aggressively cutting rates based on the assumption that (inflation) may just be temporary and will self-correct." He also added that many businesses in the Midwest remain worried that inflation is not yet under control. Goolsbee noted that a new set of labor statistics compiled by the Chicago Fed, which integrates several economic reports to generate real-time data, shows that the labor market is only experiencing a "moderate" cooling and does not indicate that the U.S. economy is in a state of sharp slowdown. Goolsbee said, "Overall, our labor market remains stable and reliable." Goolsbee expressed his support for last week's rate cut decision, as there are signs indicating that Trump's trade war has less impact on inflation than many economists are concerned about, partly because many of America's major trading partners are less interested in retaliating against the White House.