MNI TRANSCRIPT: Powell on Labor Market Gains

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following is the portion of a transcript from

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's press conference after the FOMC meeting

Wednesday:

     Q: The other thing you talked about in this review is the gains that a

super high pressure labor market have particularly for the communities that you

are talking about. If that's something that you are identifying and something

that the Fed is learning more about this year, why not continue to push those

gains, particularly for people who are re-entering the labor force?

     A: I think we are doing that. I mean I think we are keeping -- I think we

have made very substantial adjustments to policy over the course of this year.

You think about it. We entered the year expecting some further rate increases,

and we went to patient and we have done three rate cuts. Very substantial shift

and the affects of it will be felt over time. We feel like those shifts are

appropriate to support exactly the outcomes you are talking about which are

continuing strong labor market and job creation.

     Q: You were describing the shifts that you have made so far. It was about

specifically these kinds of high pressure labor gains.

     A: We said it was about three things. Slowing global economy. You have a

synchronized slow down in economic activity around the globe. It has been

building authorize 18 months now and that's having an affect on U.S. activity.

That's part of the weakness in manufacturing export and business investment. We

have had trade policy uncertainty which we think also has been weighing on

activity and investment and sentiment and we have had inflation which we called

out the risk of inflation running below 2% as a risk that we needed to address.

We have been doing it to address all of those things. I would say the gains in

the labor market have been great to see. It is particularly the fact that people

at the lower end of wages have been getting most of the benefit most the wage

gains in the last couple of years. That's a great thing. You know from our Fed

listens events that we have been hearing from people who live and work in low

and moderate income communities that this is the best labor market they have

seen. And by the way that there is also -- there is so many people who are still

not in the labor market yet and that there is just a lot more good that can be

done there. At the same time we have to think about the whole economy. Yes,

those gains are very positive. We do call them out. They are reason for us to

want to extend the expansion and something we are committed to doing.

--MNI Washington Bureau; +1 202 371 2121; email: brooke.migdon@marketnews.com

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