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A Recession Is 'Not Completely Off the Table,' Warns Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen The Treasury Secretary shared her thoughts after a disappointing June jobs report.

By Sam Silverman Edited by Jessica Thomas

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

We're not out of the recession woods yet, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

While appearing on CBS's Face the Nation, Yellen said a recession is "not completely off the table" following the weakest jobs report since December 2020. However, she said a decline in the labor market was to be expected.

In June, U.S. employers added 209,000 jobs, more than 100,000 less than May's reported addition of 339,000 jobs, per The New York Times.

RELATED: What Is a Recession and How Do You Prepare for One?

Although this decline seems to spell bad news, Yellen says it's a reflection of the country's strong rebound after the Covid-19 pandemic.

"When the pandemic struck, there was huge job loss and a contraction in our economy. And as recovery took place, due to President Biden's economic policies and success with our vaccination effort, there was a very rapid, dramatic rebound, [and] the labor market recovered," Yellen said in the interview, adding, "And now growth has slowed somewhat back to more normal levels."

RELATED: 3 Key Strategies That Helped My Business Grow During a Recession

With the monthly jobs gains returning to normal levels, Yellen said, "It's my hope that, and belief, that there is a path to bring inflation down in the context of a healthy labor market, and the data that I've seen suggests we're on that path," per The Hill.

Sam Silverman

Content Strategy Editor

Sam Silverman is a content strategy editor at Entrepreneur Media. She specializes in search engine optimization (SEO), and her work can be found in The US Sun, Nicki Swift, In Touch Weekly, Life & Style and Health. She writes for our news team with a focus on investigating scandals. Her coverage and expertise span from business news, entrepreneurship, technology, and true crime, to the latest in entertainment and TV news. Sam is a graduate of Lehigh University and currently resides in NYC. 

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