2024 Forecast: Slower Growth and 'New Normal' as Pandemic Interventions Ease
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Wall Street sees 2024 as a year when economic headaches like inflation and higher rates become "normalized" at new, less comfortable levels.
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Fiscal and monetary interventions from governments are backing off from pandemic-era stimulus efforts. This means less support for consumers.
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Consumers are spending less on goods and more on services and travel, though overall spending is stabilizing rather than booming as it did earlier in the pandemic.
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Employment has also stabilized, with job openings declining but the employment rate steady. This could feed into slower wage and price growth.
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Some experts caution against declaring "normality" based just on headline numbers returning to pre-pandemic levels, since longer-term trends still show changes in behavior.