A ‘soft landing’ or a recession? How each one might affect America’s households and businesses

The solid hiring revealed in Friday's jobs report for November, along with a raft of other recent economic data, is boosting hopes that the U.S. economy will achieve a “soft landing” next year rather than a widely feared recession. A so-called soft landing would occur if the economy slowed enough to bring inflation down to the Federal Reserve's 2% target, without tumbling into a deep recession. The Fed has sharply raised its key interest rate to try to moderate borrowing and spending and tame inflation.