Fed Chairman Powell: "The main takeaway is that the economy is doing very well." (2013, percentage)

[BigCityDreamer]

"Most people who want to find jobs are finding them, and unemployment and inflation are low. Interest rates have been low for some years while the economy has been recovering from the financial crisis...."

"In the labor market, job gains averaged 180,000 per month over the past three months, well above the pace needed in the longer run to provide jobs for new entrants into the work force. The unemployment rate declined over the past two months and stood at 3.8 percent in May, its lowest level in nearly two decades. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate has been roughly unchanged since late 2013. That is a positive sign, given that the aging of our population is putting downward pressure on the participation rate, and we expect the job market to remain strong. As you can see in our Summary of Economic Projections, the median of Committee participants’ projections for the unemployment rate stands at 3.6 percent in the fourth quarter of this year and runs at 3.5 percent over the next two years, a percentage point below the median estimate of its longer-run normal rate."

https://www.federalreserve.gov/media...nf20180613.pdf

Comments?

[Hemlock140]

There will always be those who for whatever reason are not able to find a job that suits them, whether it's lack of experience, education, or they just don't do well at interviews. Whether the 3.6 UE rate is accurate is up for debate, but there will always be some people unemployed. Currently everyone I know that had a rough time in the recession is gainfully employed now, some have promoted or changed to even better jobs in the last few years. As a hiring manager I have seen a big drop in the number of applicants for our job openings. Those tend to confirm, and interest rates have been low, but they are now rising, and the foreign trade/tariff issues going on now could have a significant effect.