Bloomberg Talks Fed President Austan Goolsbee Talks Fed Independence, Potential Rate Cut
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Sep 5, 2025 
Austan Goolsbee, the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, dives deep into the vital topic of Fed independence, stressing its importance amidst political scrutiny. He discusses recent jobs data and its implications for potential interest rate cuts in the upcoming FOMC meeting. Goolsbee also highlights the intricate relationship between labor markets and monetary policy, emphasizing diverse indicators over simple metrics. With optimism for economic growth, he points to immigration and labor participation as key factors in reaching full employment by 2026.
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Look Beyond One Jobs Number
- Austan Goolsbee warns against over-interpreting a single monthly payroll report as the business-cycle signal.
- He favors a portfolio view using rates and ratios like unemployment, layoffs, vacancies, and hiring for a truer read.
Wait For Broader Labor Signals Before Cutting
- Goolsbee says he remains undecided on a September rate cut and wants more information before deciding.
- He will watch whether weakness shows up across the unemployment, hiring, layoff and vacancy metrics before supporting cuts.
Services Inflation Could Block Cuts
- He balances labor signals against inflation readings, especially services inflation, before acting.
- A persistent uptick in services inflation would reduce his comfort with cutting rates even if jobs soften.