The soft jobs data pushed the forward curve back down to 3%, with the market now expecting the next rate cut in September. With the TIPS break-even curve stable at the 2.50-2.75% range, in my view a neutral policy would be around 3.50-3.75%. That means that the market is expecting that the Fed will go past neutral and into the accommodative zone. While a neutral policy seems reasonable enough, I’m not so sure about the need for an accommodative stance. Per the chart below, the employment situation seems to be quite balanced in terms of the supply of labor and the demand it. Both the JOLTS excess labor demand and the U3 unemployment rate (relative to the natural rate of employment) are at zero, which is neither hot nor cold. Yes, the trend is down, but it was too high to begin with following the labor shortage during COVID.  For the forward curve to be right, the labor market will have to continue to weaken from here.