White House economic advisor Brian Deese said Thursday the U.S. is making “progress” despite another red hot inflation report.
Inflation increased at 0.4% in September from August while “core” inflation, which measures the price of goods excluding food and energy, hit a 40-year-high, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show. Core inflation rose 6.6% year-over-year while the Consumer Price Index fell to 8.2% overall year-over-year despite spiking 0.4% in August.
The data comes on the heels of earlier remarks from President Joe Biden who downplayed concerns of a recession Tuesday, saying there may be a “slight recession” looming and the economy may “move down slightly.”
“Brian, just telling Americans that things aren’t as bad here as they are around the world really isn’t a reassuring statement at this point,” CNN’s Bianna Golodryga said, noting President Joe Biden told CNN’s Jake Tapper he only expects a mild recession if any. “What should Americans be prepared for in the months ahead?”
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Deese said the U.S. has a “remarkable” recovery ongoing with low unemployment. He also argued there is a “strong labor market recovery” and while prices remain high “the message the president is delivering is that you have a presidential administration that’s waking up every day trying to address that problem head on and we are making progress,” Deese said. “We are making progress on energy prices. We are making progress. We just have to – we just have to stay at it.”
“And so the – you know, we have policies that are going to make a difference. We have policies that have already made a difference. We just have to stay at the course.”