Interest rates set to rise mid 2015? Potentially says Yellen. Time to buy your next home? Potentially:) Feds Yellen: Labor market has yet to fully recover Paul Davidson, USA TODAY August 22, 2014 Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Friday the recent rapid decline in the unemployment rate likely overstates the health of the labor market, which may have been altered persistently by the Great Recession. Speaking at the Feds annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo., Yellen said other barometers of the job market, such as the low number of Americans participating in the labor force, suggest that the decline in the unemployment rate over this period somewhat overstates the improvement in overall labor market conditions. Debate is heating up among Fed policymakers about when to begin raising the Feds benchmark short-term interest rate, near zero since the financial crisis. While most policymakers have indicated the first rate hike is likely to come in mid-2015, some have argued the improving job market and rising inflation should lead to an earlier increase. Yellen is considered one of the Feds most pro-growth policymakers -- meaning she is more concerned with pushing down unemployment than heading off inflation. But rather than provide evidence solely to support that view, Yellen on Friday provided fodder for both pro-growth and anti-inflation factions of policymakers, arguing that the Feds decision about when to raise interest rates is particularly challenging and will depend on the speed of the recovery.
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 15:32:05 +0000
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