Consumers Feel Awful But Keep Spending with Mastercard's Chief Economist Michelle Meyer

Mastercard data shows U.S. consumers spending broadly across income groups despite high rates, powering a 5.5% holiday-season growth forecast.

• Holiday spend forecast: Mastercard projects 5.5% year-over-year holiday spending growth (ex-autos and gas), the strongest in four years, with roughly half the gain from real volume and half from inflation.
• Labor market is the key driver: Michelle Meyer says the unemployment rate sits just above 4%, job creation is broadening into goods/manufacturing sectors, and job-opening-to-unemployed ratio is just above one.

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