Testimony
Chair Jerome H. Powell
Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress
July 2024
("In the labor market, a broad set of indicators suggests that conditions have returned to about where they stood on the eve of the pandemic: strong, but not overheated. The unemployment rate has moved higher but was still at a low level of 4.1 percent in June. Payroll job gains averaged 222,000 jobs per month in the first half of the year. Strong job creation over the past couple of years has been accompanied by an increase in the supply of workers, reflecting increases in labor force participation among individuals aged 25 to 54 and a strong pace of immigration. As a result, the jobs-to-workers gap is well down from its peak and now stands just a bit above its 2019 level. Nominal wage growth has eased over the past year. The strong labor market has helped narrow long-standing disparities in employment and earnings across demographic groups.")
Chair Jerome H. Powell
Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress
March 2024
("The labor market remains relatively tight, but supply and demand conditions have continued to come into better balance. Since the middle of last year, payroll job gains have averaged 239,000 jobs per month, and the unemployment rate has remained near historical lows, at 3.7 percent. Strong job creation has been accompanied by an increase in the supply of workers, particularly among individuals aged 25 to 54, and a continued strong pace of immigration. Job vacancies have declined, and nominal wage growth has been easing. Although the jobs-to-workers gap has narrowed, labor demand still exceeds the supply of available workers. The strong labor market over the past two years has also helped narrow long-standing disparities in employment and earnings across demographic groups.")