The Treasury secretary says the red-hot labor market means the U.S. can avoid a recession: ‘You don’t have a recession when you have 500,000 jobs and the lowest unemployment rate in more than 50 years’

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen participates in a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Canada Chrystia Freeland at the Department of the Treasury on January 10, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Credit: Kevin Dietsch—Getty Images)

Despite more than a year of consistent recession predictions from investment banks, economists, and billionaire investors, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Monday that the latest labor market data shows the U.S. economy remains “strong and resilient.”

Employers added 517,000 jobs in December—more than double economists’ estimates—and the unemployment rate fell to a 53-year low of 3.4%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week.