Former US Treasury Secretary: Weak employment brings Fed closer to cutting interest rates by 50 basis points

Mr. Summers, the former Treasury secretary, said that while the August non-farm payrolls report was not particularly bad, it did make it harder to predict how much the Fed might cut interest rates this month. "The data, while not showing very significant weakness, certainly don't give you assurances of economic health if you're concerned about recent statistical trends," Mr. Summers said in an interview. "The odds of a 25 basis point and 50 basis point cut in September look closer than I would have guessed a month or two ago." Ultimately, Mr. Summers said, the size of the Fed's first move does not matter. Officials will be watching the economic outlook closely and adjusting policy accordingly. "If the economy weakens a lot, they will cut rates a lot," he said. "If the economy doesn't really weaken a lot, they will probably cut rates at a rate of about one meeting at a time."