MNI BRIEF: Fed’s Kashkari: Must Hike More To 'Balance' Jobs

The Federal Reserve needs to raise interest rates rates further in order to cool an overheated labor market and booming services sector and keep inflation declining, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said Wednesday.

“The services side of the economy is still hot. We haven’t seen any movement there” on inflation, he said during a Q&A sponsored by the Economic Club of Boston.

“There are some hopeful signs but there’s not much evidence yet in my judgment that the rate hikes we’ve done so far are having much effect on the labor market. We need to bring the labor market into balance. That tells me we need to do more, how much more I don’t know for sure.” (See MNI INTERVIEW: Fed Could Need To Hike Again After Pause-Ireland)