US Economy Faces ‘Lot of Uncertainty’ in Coming Year, White House’s Deese Says

The US economy faces “a lot of uncertainty” over the next year from global threats, but should be buoyed by a strong labor market and new legislation, White House economic adviser Brian Deese said Tuesday.

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(Bloomberg) — The US economy faces “a lot of uncertainty” over the next year from global threats, but should be buoyed by a strong labor market and new legislation, White House economic adviser Brian Deese said Tuesday.

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Deese said the bill President Joe Biden will sign Tuesday providing tax subsidies for green energy purchases and health care would help stabilize the US economy.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of uncertainty in the 6- to 12-month horizon,” Deese said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Balance of Power With David Westin.” “We’re still very focused on some of the global threats that we face including the energy markets, and the second order implications of the war in Ukraine.”

Still, Deese said fears the country would enter a recession due to high inflation were counterbalanced by positive economic data, including a 3.5% unemployment rate and July’s industrial production rate beating consensus estimates.

“There’s no doubt that we’re in a transition,” Deese said. “It’s a transition that our economy needs to get to that more stable growth.”

Deese also said that data showing a cooling housing market was “the intended result of the Fed’s tightening efforts” to keep inflation in check.

“That’s the place where you perhaps see that tightening happen in the most direct way because of the impact on mortgage rates and that impact on economic activity,” Deese said.