January 28, 2026
Jerome H. Powell
January 28, 2026 FOMC Press Conference
- The chair said the federal funds rate is within a range of plausible estimates of neutral after cumulative cuts of 175 basis points since September 2024.
- The chair said the temporary federal government shutdown likely weighed on economic activity last quarter, with effects expected to reverse this quarter.
- The chair said total nonfarm payrolls declined at an average pace of 22,000 per month over the last three months, while private payrolls rose at an average pace of 29,000 per month.
- The chair said most of the overrun in goods prices is from tariffs, and core PCE inflation is running just a bit above 2 percent excluding tariff effects on goods.
- The chair said he attended the Supreme Court hearing on the Lisa Cook case because it is perhaps the most important legal case in the Fed’s 113-year history, and he declined to respond to criticism from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
From the opening statement
Press conference
CHAIR POWELL. Good afternoon. My colleagues and I remain squarely focused on achieving our dual-mandate goals of maximum employment and stable prices for the benefit of the American people. The U.S. economy expanded at a solid pace last year and is coming into 2026 on a firm footing. While job gains have remained low, the unemployment rate has shown some signs of stabilization, and inflation remains somewhat elevated.
In support of our goals, today the Federal Open Market Committee decided to leave our policy rate unchanged. Having lowered our policy rate by 75 basis points over the course of our previous three meetings, we see the current stance of monetary policy as appropriate to promote progress toward both our maximum-employment and 2 percent inflation goals. I will have more to say about monetary policy after briefly reviewing economic developments.
Available indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace. Consumer spending has been resilient, and business fixed investment has continued to expand. In contrast, activity in the housing sector has remained weak. The temporary shutdown of the federal government likely weighed on economic activity last quarter, but these effects should be reversed as the reopening boosts growth this quarter.