May 4, 2022
Jerome H. Powell
May 4, 2022 FOMC Press Conference
- The chair said the labor market is "extremely tight" and that employment rose by nearly 1.7 million jobs over the first three months of the year.
- The chair said the unemployment rate in March hit a post-pandemic, near-five-decade low of 3.6 percent.
- The chair said there is a "broad sense on the Committee" that additional 50-basis-point increases should be on the table at the next couple of meetings, assuming economic and financial conditions evolve in line with expectations.
- The chair said a 75-basis-point increase is not something the FOMC is actively considering.
- The chair said the FOMC's estimates of the neutral rate are in a broad range of 2 to 3 percent, and that if the path to restore price stability requires levels higher than estimates of neutral, the FOMC will not hesitate to go there.
From the opening statement
Press conference
CHAIR POWELL. Good afternoon. It’s nice to see everyone in person for the first time in a couple years.
Before I go into the details of today’s meeting, I’d like to take this opportunity to speak directly to the American people.
Inflation is much too high, and we understand the hardship it is causing, and we’re moving expeditiously to bring it back down. We have both the tools we need and the resolve that it will take to restore price stability on behalf of American families and businesses. The economy and the country have been through a lot over the past two years and have proved resilient. It is essential that we bring inflation down if we are to have a sustained period of strong labor market conditions that benefit all.