Charlottesville, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – CBS Business Analyst Jill Schlesinger joined Morning News with a candid take on the current economic landscape, blending her usual wit with warnings about potential trouble ahead. “We’ve got some raucous right now in the economy,” Schlesinger said, noting that while job creation has remained steady, with 177,000 jobs added last month, key data may be giving a misleading picture due to businesses front-loading activity before tariffs take effect. 

Schlesinger explained that companies rushing to spend early in the year to avoid potential tariff costs are temporarily boosting numbers, masking deeper weaknesses. “That big business spending kind of masks an underlying weakness,” she said. She added that once that spending normalizes, consumers may be hit harder, especially if companies pass tariff costs down through price hikes. The Federal Reserve, meanwhile, is unlikely to cut interest rates without clearer evidence, disappointing those burdened by credit card rates averaging 22%.  

High inflation and steep borrowing costs continue to weigh on everyday Americans. “If I make 60 grand a year as a household, a lot of that income it’s, just spent on the essentials,” Schlesinger emphasized, describing how inflation acts as a regressive tax. Mortgage rates are another sticking point, currently hovering just under 6.8%. “That is nasty,” she remarked, highlighting the 47% rise in housing prices over five years. With no clear signs of relief in sight, Schlesinger’s forecast was blunt: brace for more economic headwinds.  

Listen to the full conversation here: