Marketplace The 2025 consumer sentiment rollercoaster
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Dec 19, 2025 
Scott Simpkins, an Associate professor of economics at North Carolina A&T, shares his innovative approach to teaching macroeconomics through AI-generated songs. Amara Mokwe, a reporter at Bloomberg, analyzes recent labor market and inflation data, revealing conflicting views among Fed officials. Heather Long, Chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, discusses consumer spending patterns and the impact of a K-shaped recovery. Together, they explore the rollercoaster of consumer sentiment and its economic implications for 2025.
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Fed Balances Inflation Versus Jobs
- The Fed faces competing problems: sticky inflation and a weakening labor market that need different policy responses.
- Policymakers are split, making pauses or careful moves likelier than aggressive, one-direction action.
Policymakers Split Into Two Camps
- Fed officials are in two camps: one worried inflation remains elevated, another cautious about labor-market weakness.
- That division makes a January pause in rate moves a realistic outcome.
Hiring Weakness Is Broad And Structural
- Labor-market deterioration may partly reflect fewer available workers from aging and a drop in immigration.
- Many industries show job declines, suggesting the weakness is broadening beyond a few sectors.