September 13, 2012
BBBen S. BernankeSeptember 13, 2012 FOMC Press Conference
- The chair said that fewer than half of the 8 million jobs lost in the recession have been restored, and that 5 million Americans have been unemployed for more than six months.
- The chair stated that FOMC participants' projections for the unemployment rate in the fourth quarter of 2015 have a central tendency of 6.0 to 6.8 percent, and for inflation a central tendency of 1.8 to 2.0 percent in 2015.
- The chair said that the Fed's asset purchase programs will likely help reduce rather than increase the federal deficit and debt, through net interest earnings and by strengthening the economy.
- The chair said that the Fed does not intend to intentionally raise inflation, and that if inflation goes above the target level, the Fed would take a balanced approach to bring it back over time.
- The chair said that the Fed's policies are not a panacea and cannot solve the unemployment problem alone, and that the amount of support provided will depend on how the economy evolves.
From the opening statement
Press conference
CHAIRMAN BERNANKE. Good afternoon. Earlier today the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) approved new measures to support the recovery and employment growth . I’ll get to the specifics of our actions in a few moments, but I’ll first describe the economic conditions that motivated the Committee’s decision to take additional actions.
As you know, the Federal Reserve conducts monetary policy under a dual mandate from Congress to promote maximum employment and price stability. The United States has enjoyed broad price stability since the mid-1990s and continues to do so today. The employment situation, however, remains a grave concern. While the economy appears to be on a path of moderate recovery, it isn’t growing fast enough to make significant progress reducing the unemployment rate. Fewer than half of the 8 million jobs lost in the recession have been restored. And, at 8.1 percent, the unemployment rate is nearly unchanged since the beginning of the year and is well above normal levels.
The weak job market should concern every American. High unemployment imposes hardship on millions of people, and it entails a tremendous waste of human skills and talents. Five million Americans have been unemployed for more than six months, and millions more have left the labor force —many of them doubtless because they have given up on finding suitable work. As the skills of the long-term unemployed atrophy and as their connections to the labor market wither, they may find it increasingly difficult to get good jobs, to their and their families’ cost, of course, but also to the detriment of our nation’s productive potential.