“It’s not completely ruled out,” Yellen said from Beijing, to the Face the Nation program of the CBS News.

Yellen’s statements come after latest jobs report which showed a slowdown in the country’s labor market.

She considered that it is appropriate and normal for growth to moderate, and said that the United States has “a healthy economy, a great labor market”.

She also admitted that “inflation is too high, and it is a concern of ours and of the American people, but it is coming down over time”.

According to the June jobs report, the unemployment rate dropped from 3.7% in May to 3.6% as domestic economy added 209,000 jobs, the fewest jobs added since December 2020.

The Fed has pursued aggressive interest rate hikes to curb high inflation amid fears of a possible recession, and figures from the new jobs report could indicate more rate hikes to come.

In Yellen’s view, the U.S. economy experienced “a very rapid and dramatic rebound” after the Covid-19 pandemic, as Joe Biden’s administration pushed economic and vaccination policies alike.

However, “now growth has slowed a little bit back to more normal levels,” said the Treasury secretary, who was on a four-day visit to China.

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