U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks to Rose Garden staff as he returns from COVID-19 isolation to work in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S. July 27, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON, July 28 (Reuters) – President Joe Biden on Thursday sought to allay voter angst over the state of the U.S. economy, saying it was no shock to see a slowdown after that data showed the economy contracted again in the second quarter.

After new data showed the economy was slowing for the second straight quarter, Biden appeared before reporters and recounted a series of his economic achievements, including a labor market that continues to create jobs.

“It doesn’t sound like a recession to me,” Biden said at the end of a speech.

The remarks came as Biden aides fear voter concerns about the economy could tip his Democratic Party in the Nov. 8 midterm election for control of Congress.

The president’s approval rating has fallen to a record low 36%, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, with the economy top of voters’ minds as grocery, gas and housing bills rise. Read more

While the second consecutive quarterly decline in GDP meets a standard definition of a recession, the White House says the broader conditions for a recession are far from being met, given the strength in consumer spending and the labor markets. Read more

“It’s no surprise that the economy is slowing as the Federal Reserve acts to bring inflation down,” Biden said in an earlier statement. “We are on the right path and we will go through this transition stronger and safer.”

Still, voters and markets feared a slowdown was imminent as policymakers try to rein in an economy where inflation has hit 40-year highs.

New data from the Commerce Department estimated that gross domestic product fell at an annualized rate of 0.9% last quarter, after economists saw the figure rise 0.5%. Read more

White House officials believe the GDP weakness is due to one-time factors, including a decline in business inventories, which may not reflect broader trends.

They also worry that talk of a recession is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy as businesses and consumers, fearing tougher times ahead, cut spending and investment plans.

Biden is expected to host the chief executives of Marriott International Inc, (MAR.O) Bank of America, (BAC.N) and Deloitte as well as several top executive advisers at a White House meeting on the economy on Thursday.

The Republican Party has used high inflation and economic weaknesses to attack Biden’s economic and spending priorities. The party has been scathing in its criticism of White House attempts to push back talk of the recession.

The Fed on Wednesday raised its benchmark rate another three-quarters of a percentage point, bringing the total interest rate hikes since March to 225 basis points. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged the slowdown in economic activity due to the tightening of monetary policy. Read more

Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Steve Holland; additional reporting by Susan Heavey and Chris Gallagher; Editing by Paul Grant and Alistair Bell

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