Richmond Fed’s Barkin Sees Cause for Caution on Labor Market

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Tom Barkin offered an optimistic inflation outlook, while suggesting the labor market may be weaker than available data signal.

Barkin highlighted data that have shown a drop in jobs growth and postings, as well as filings for unemployment claims that have remained mostly steady.

Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin.

Photographer: Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg

“Our outreach suggests a somewhat weaker labor market than these numbers suggest,” Barkin said in remarks prepared for an event Tuesday in Winchester, Virginia. “If you ask businesses how they see the labor market today, they say, ‘balanced.’ But as they describe that ‘balance’ in more detail, it doesn’t ...