Jerome Powell recalled the postwar efforts of American economic policymakers to achieve full employment. According to the head of the Federal Reserve, the United States should now be committed to something similar.
U.S. Central Bank Governor Jerome Powell called for a broad societal commitment to get Americans back to work. In particular, minorites and those who lost their jobs as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
“The number of people who have lost their jobs, and the likelihood of finding it only difficult after the pandemic, will require much more than supportive monetary policy,” Jerome Powell said during of his Wednesday speech. According to him, a society-wide effort will be necessary, which requires that the government, but also the private sector, attach a hand to the work.
In addition to affirming the Fed‘s commitment to holding interest rates at the current de facto zero level, Powell also appealed to government spending that should encourage investments that would contribute to jump-start medium- and long-term economic growth. The latter should lead to new job creation and help reduce unemployment, which climbed to an all-time high in the Great Depression after the pandemic outbreak was transferred to the US.
