Fed's Jefferson: Labor market sluggish due to uncertainty around policy, AI

WASHINGTON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. labor market is in a "sluggish" state with firms hesitant to hire amid broad shifts in economic policy and interest in how artificial intelligence might be a substitute for new hiring, Fed vice chair Philip Jefferson said on Monday.

"We have a labor market that is right now...is sort of sluggish," Jefferson said in comments at a Kansas City Fed event. Firms "don't want to overcommit to new hiring if in fact AI is going to be able to do some of the work that would have been done by new workers...It is also the case that they are facing a lot of uncertainty around what exactly is going to be true with economic policy more generally."