Treasury's Bessent says he's optimistic on labor market

Feb 20 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday he is optimistic the labor market will break out of its current low-hire, low-fire environment, pointing to signs he sees of stronger labor demand ahead.

Business spending on AI data centers surged last year, he noted, and "traditionally capex booms were followed by labor booms," he told the Economic Club of Dallas. Temp agencies are reporting bigger profits and very good demand, and "historically that morphs into long-term demand."