1. Data from the Conference Board's "Jobs Are Plentiful" series (February 2020). For more on the Conference Board, see https://www.conference-board.org. Return to text
2. Another Fed Listens event was held in 2020 to discuss the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. For a summary of all of the Fed Listens events, see the report Fed Listens: Perspectives from the Public, available on the Board's website at https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/fedlistens-report-20200612.pdf. Return to text
3. For data comparing labor force participation rates across countries, see Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2021), "Labour Force Participation Rate" (indicator), OECD Data. Return to text
4. For a description of labor market outcomes by race and ethnicity over the business cycle, see Stephanie R. Aaronson, Mary C. Daly, William L. Wascher, and David W. Wilcox (2019), "Okun Revisited: Who Benefits Most from a Strong Economy?" in James H. Stock and Janice Eberly, eds., Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (Washington: Brookings Institution Press, Spring), pp. 333–75; and Tomaz Cajner, Tyler Radler, David Ratner, and Ivan Vidangos (2017), "Racial Gaps in Labor Market Outcomes in the Last Four Decades and over the Business Cycle (PDF)," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2017-071 (Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, June). Return to text
5. Published monthly data on labor force participation begin in 1948. Return to text
6. For research on the adverse consequences of permanent job loss, see Steven J. Davis and Till von Wachter (2011), "Recessions and the Costs of Job Loss," in David H. Romer and Justin Wolfers, eds., Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (Washington: Brookings Institution Press, Fall), pp. 1–75; Kenneth A. Couch and Dana W. Placzek (2010), "Earnings Losses of Displaced Workers Revisited," American Economic Review, vol. 100 (March), pp. 572–89; and Louis S. Jacobson, Robert J. LaLonde, and Daniel G. Sullivan (1993), "Earnings Losses of Displaced Workers," American Economic Review, vol. 83 (September), pp. 685–709. Return to text
7. The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines a job loss as temporary if the affected worker has been given a date to return to work or expects to be recalled to their former job within six months. Return to text
8. For research on the effect of the Paycheck Protection Program on employment, see David Autor, David Cho, Leland D. Crane, Mita Goldar, Byron Lutz, Joshua Montes, William B. Peterman, David Ratner, Daniel Villar, and Ahu Yildirmaz (2020), " An Evaluation of the Paycheck Protection Program Using Administrative Payroll Microdata (PDF)," preliminary paper, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, July; João Granja, Christos Makridis, Constantine Yannelis, and Eric Zwick (2020), "Did the Paycheck Protection Program Hit the Target? (PDF)" NBER Working Paper Series 27095 (Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research, May (revised November 2020)); and R. Glenn Hubbard and Michael R. Strain (2020), "Has the Paycheck Protection Program Succeeded? (PDF)" NBER Working Paper Series 28032 (Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research, October). Return to text
9. For a description of the reallocation of resources induced by the COVID-19 shock, see Jose Maria Barrero, Nicholas Bloom, and Steven J. Davis (2020), "COVID-19 Is Also a Reallocation Shock (PDF)," NBER Working Paper Series 27137 (Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research, May). Return to text
10. See Jerome H. Powell (2020), "New Economic Challenges and the Fed's Monetary Policy Review," speech delivered at "Navigating the Decade Ahead: Implications for Monetary Policy," a symposium sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, held in Jackson Hole, Wyo., August 27. Return to text
11. The FOMC's Statement on Longer-Run Goals and Monetary Policy Strategy, revised in August 2020 and reaffirmed in January, is available on the Board's website at https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/files/FOMC_LongerRunGoals.pdf. Return to text
12. Italics added for emphasis. See Powell, "New Economic Challenges," p. 11, in note 10. Return to text
13. See Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (2021), "Federal Reserve Issues FOMC Statement," press release, January 27. Return to text
14. See Joseph T. Glatthaar (2018), The American Military: A Concise History (New York: Oxford University Press). Return to text
15. For a discussion, see Aaron Steelman (2013), "Employment Act of 1946," in Federal Reserve History; the quotation from the act is reprinted in Steelman, paragraph 1. Return to text
16. See, for example, Daniel Sullivan and Till von Wachter (2009), "Job Displacement and Mortality: An Analysis Using Administrative Data," Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 124 (August), pp. 1265–1306; Philip Oreopoulos, Marianne Page, and Ann Huff Stevens (2008), "The Intergenerational Effects of Worker Displacement," Journal of Labor Economics, vol. 26 (July), pp. 455–83; and Bruno S. Frey and Alois Stutzer (2002), "What Can Economists Learn from Happiness Research?" Journal of Economic Literature, vol. 40 (June), pp. 402–35. Return to text
More Articles
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System: Something’s Got to Give by Governor Christopher J. Waller
- Board of Governors: Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee June 14–15, 2022; Consumer Price Inflation Remained Elevated
- Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement; Overall Economic Activity, Job Gains and Inflation: "The Committee is strongly committed to returning inflation to its 2 percent objective."
- "Operating Under A Cloud of Uncertainty": Janet Yellen's FOMC Press Conference About Raising the Target Range for Federal Funds Rate to 1/2 to 3/4 %
- Ben Speaks: The Economic Outlook and Monetary and Fiscal Policy