MNI BRIEF: Powell Sees No Real Softening In Labor Market Yet

The U.S. labor market remains very strong with little sign of softening in response to higher interest rates, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday.

"We keep looking for signs that the beginning of a gradual softening is happening. Maybe that's there but it's not obvious to me," he said. "Wages are not coming down, they're just moving sideways at an elevated level." Vacancies are below their all-time high but "not by as much as we thought," he added.

Meanwhile, unemployment is at a 50-year low of 3.5% and there's only a very small increase in the labor supply this year. "The broader picture is of an overheated labor market where demand substantially exceeds supply, job creation still exceeds the level that would hold the market where it is," Powell said.