Fed Chair Says Vaccinations Will Help Economy Return to Normal

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell announces that the Central Bank is keeping interest rates near zero as the economy continues to rebound and demand for labor increases. However, he says that the labor market "has a ways to go" as participation has not yet increased from the low rates of the past year. Care-giving needs, fears about the pandemic and unemployment insurance payments all appear to be weighing on employment growth but are expected to wane in the coming months along with inflationary pressures, Powell says. But he warns that bottlenecks in the economy could cause inflation to persist for longer than expected. Mr. Powell also says that vaccinations, which have slowed in recent weeks, would "support a return to more normal economic conditions." close