Goolsbee calmly responds to non-farm payroll data: Federal Reserve will not overreact

August 3 - Chicago Fed President Goolsbee stressed that < b > the Fed will not overreact to any one economic report and policymakers will have plenty of data before the Fed's next meeting. Speaking after the release of the weaker-than-expected non-farm payrolls report, Goolsbee said the Fed's job is to figure out the "continuity" of the data and act in a "stable" manner. However, he noted that if the restrictive rate remains in place for too long, policymakers must consider the employment mandate. "If the unemployment rate rises above the neutral rate, that's exactly the other side of the risk the Fed is legally required to consider and address." Goolsby also said that the state of the economy will determine the timing and scale of interest rate cuts. < b > "When the situation calls for a rate cut, there is often not a rate cut."