Economist: U.S. growth outlook brightens despite hiring slowdown
Goldman Sachs' chief economist spoke to Charlotte Economics Club uptown
The following article appeared in the November 7, 2025, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
Economist: Economic growth looks stronger, even as job growth slows; effect of AI on job losses still limited
The outlook for U.S. economic growth is getting brighter, even as job growth seems to be fading, a prominent economist told a Charlotte audience this week.
Speaking to a gathering of the Charlotte Economics Club on Tuesday, Jan Hatzius, the chief economist and head of global investment research at Goldman Sachs, said that despite the ongoing government shutdown, the country’s economic growth is looking rosier than it was just a few months ago — mostly because the threat of growth-killing tariffs seems to have receded.
“Things have generally become better, and there’s been a bigger upward move recently,” he said. … “Since April, our expectation for how much the average effective tariff rate [is] on U.S. imports has moved sideways to lower, and more recently, it’s moved more clearly lower.”
In addition, Hatzius said, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed in July, contains tax cuts that should boost business investment, which would add to economic growth.
But the pace of new hiring nationally has slowed, he said, which is partly a reflection of lower immigration and fewer people applying for jobs.
“It’s still mostly a low-hiring, low-firing environment, and job openings, which are closely correlated with hiring, [are] still trending down,” he said.
He said that slowdown probably stems from cyclical factors and not the rise of artificial intelligence replacing humans, which is causing job losses in the technology sector but largely not elsewhere.
“I hear a lot more talk about really capitalizing on AI, saving more costs, reducing the footprint, so it could become more of a macro event, but so far, it’s been more [of a] benefit,” he said.
The Charlotte Economics Club holds monthly luncheons and other events on economic policy, business trends, regional growth issues and global economic themes. The Ledger is the club’s media partner. —Tony Mecia
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Did he elaborate on what cyclical factors? "He said that slowdown probably stems from cyclical factors and not the rise of artificial intelligence replacing humans, which is causing job losses in the technology sector but largely not elsewhere.
That sounds like economist speak for a slowing economy. "Getting brighter" and "hiring has slowed" seem somewhat incongruous, unless "brighter" is a euphemism for "less grim."