The Fed Is Looking for Signals From Job Market. Amazon May Have Sent a Message.

The Federal Reserve is plotting its interest-rate path for the rest of the year, and into 2026, with little official data to set its course by since the federal government shutdown began nearly a month ago. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell hinted last month that employment would be a more important barometer for future interest-rate decisions than the elevated levels of inflation that continue to persist in the world’s largest economy. Enter Amazon the country’s biggest private employer and one of the principal players in the artificial-intelligence investment boom that is expected to transform that labor market over the coming decade.