The news comes not long after the Federal Reserve upped interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point to a range of 2.25%-2.50% in a bid to curb growth and ease price pressures.

Despite the report, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell thus far maintains the view that an economy that is adding hundreds of thousands of jobs per month is not experiencing a recession. Over the past months, Powell has vowed to take action against record-high inflation

"We do want to see demand running below potential for a sustained period to create slack and give inflation a chance to come down," Powell commented on Wednesday. 

"It's also worth noting that these rate hikes have been large and they've come quickly, and it’s likely that their full effect has not been felt by the economy. So there’s probably some additional tightening - significant additional tightening in the pipeline."

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