JPMorgan Chase (JPM +0.21%) is officially supportive of more government-driven stimulus.
That's the gist of a study the bank made publicly available recently, though it was directed toward the U.S. federal government. The JPMorgan Chase PolicyCenter specifically recommends the government "provide additional stimulus relief efforts and expanded unemployment insurance," citing the economic dangers of sustained joblessness and shrinking savings rates. The bank also recommends policies promote more equitable, affordable home ownership.
The public stance echoes comments JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has been making since September, though his calls have become more apropos of late. November's payroll growth of 245,000 (net) jobs was the slowest payroll growth since joblessness began to abate in May, and fell well short of analysts' expectation for a gain of 440,000 newly filled positions. Moreover, though the unemployment rate fell from 6.9% to 6.7% last month, that progress was more the result of people leaving the labor pool, and less the result of job gains. The total number of people in the U.S. with jobs fell by 74,000 last month.
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Policy changes that pertain to housing and racial inequality aren't apt to take shape before President Donald Trump leaves office. Multiple emergency relief bills that would prompt more stimulus checks, however, are being discussed by lawmakers at this time. The most probable legislation is a bipartisan bill proposing $908 billion worth of funding meant to rekindle economic growth, though it would not necessarily offer payments directly to individuals.
Any stimulus plan would need to take shape quickly though. Friday is the last day any such stimulus could be voted into place. Failure to act before then could lead to a "double dip" recession, which JPMorgan's Dimon is hoping to avert.
