US Employment Data Report Strengthens The Fed's Case for Cutting Interest Rates

New York, KOMPAS.com - United States Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran said on Friday (6 March 2026) local time that the weak February 2026 employment data strengthens the central bank’s case to cut interest rates further. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a decline of 92,000 non-farm payroll jobs on Friday local time. Miran said the Fed should focus more on supporting the labour market rather than worrying about inflation. “I think the labour market needs more accommodation from monetary policy. And I do not see a monetary policy stance that is slightly restrictive as the opposite of a neutral stance being the right approach. I think a neutral-leaning stance is the right one,” he said, quoted by CNBC, Saturday (7 March 2026). Currently, the target range for the Fed’s policy rate is at 3.5% to 3.75%, after three consecutive quarter-point cuts in the second half of 2025. If Miran could decide, the rate would be around the neutral point, or about one percentage point lower. Thus, indirectly, Miran signals two more rate cuts. Miran argues that the lingering high inflation rate is more a function of how inflation is measured by the Department of Commerce and the Department of Labor than underlying inflationary pressures. One factor he cited is the cost of portfolio management, which has risen amid a generally rising stock market. Miran added that the recent surge in oil prices and higher fuel costs at petrol stations tied to the Iran war are not too worrying. “Usually the Federal Reserve does not respond to such oil price increases. It raises the core inflation, but tends to be a one-off shock,” he said. “If you think about core inflation excluding energy prices, it tends to be more predictive of the inflation path in the medium term than headline inflation,” he said. Read also: Global Gold Prices Rise 0.7%, Markets Watch The Fed’s Direction