With government relief checks and the accelerating vaccine rollout, "there is finally real light at the end of the tunnel."
Economists expect the rise in prices to continue into the summer, pushing inflation past the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
“Overall, compensation costs are likely to remain subdued going forward, reflective of a high level of unemployment that will restrain wages."
The December jobs report shows "the economy’s not just tapping on the brakes, but actually has been thrown into reverse."
"At its core, the rule makes it easier to classify workers as independent contractors rather than employees."
Amid the surge in coronavirus infections, “We are increasingly worried that the monthly gains in consumption will be weaker."
“With the explosion in virus numbers putting downward pressure on demand in the short-term, we expect inflation to remain subdued for a while yet."
“We're only half dug out of our hole, and each month's pace of jobs growth has been slower than the last since July."
"Hanging around the 800k+ level is still not a good place to be, especially going into the winter."
“The pace of jobs recovery apparent in today’s report suggests that we will be counting the employment recovery in years, not months or quarters."
The slowing job growth is “a warning that the recovery could go into reverse this fall without further government support.”
Core inflation rose 0.6% last month, the largest gain since January 1991, as the disinflationary impact of the coronavirus continued to wear off.
