Fed says job market is weak
March 27, 2012, Tuesday
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THE US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke yesterday said the US job market remains weak despite three months of strong hiring and that the Fed's existing policies will help boost growth.
Further job gains will likely require more robust consumer and business demand, Bernanke said at the National Association for Business Economics conference in Arlington, Virginia. Bernanke's comments suggest the central bank is prepared to keep interest rates near zero unless the economy improves substantially.
While the job gains have led to some increase in consumer confidence and incomes, "we have not seen that in a persuasive way yet," Bernanke said. He said the Fed needed to "remain cautious" in deciding what its next moves should be.
Recent job gains have been encouraging. Employers added an average of 245,000 jobs a month from December through February. The jobless rate has fallen a percentage point since summer to 8.3 percent.
Still, the economy grew at an annual pace of 3 percent in the October-December quarter. And economists believe growth has slowed in the January-March quarter to around 2 percent growth.
Bernanke said the combination of modest economic growth and rapid drops in unemployment is something of a puzzle.
Further job gains will likely require more robust consumer and business demand, Bernanke said at the National Association for Business Economics conference in Arlington, Virginia. Bernanke's comments suggest the central bank is prepared to keep interest rates near zero unless the economy improves substantially.
While the job gains have led to some increase in consumer confidence and incomes, "we have not seen that in a persuasive way yet," Bernanke said. He said the Fed needed to "remain cautious" in deciding what its next moves should be.
Recent job gains have been encouraging. Employers added an average of 245,000 jobs a month from December through February. The jobless rate has fallen a percentage point since summer to 8.3 percent.
Still, the economy grew at an annual pace of 3 percent in the October-December quarter. And economists believe growth has slowed in the January-March quarter to around 2 percent growth.
Bernanke said the combination of modest economic growth and rapid drops in unemployment is something of a puzzle.
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