US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stressed that he does not see an imminent end to the Corona pandemic which is also known as "COVID-19" in the near term.
Powel warns that this makes it difficult to assess the job market in such a complicated environment.
Powell indicated, during a press conference after the conclusion of the Fed's latest monetary policy committee meeting, that if the pandemic can be controlled, then policymakers will have a better idea of the nature of the labor market, but "that is not coming anytime soon."
The Federal Reserve said in new economic forecasts published after the end of the two-day meeting that it will end its pandemic-related asset purchases program in March, paving the way for three interest rate increases, each by a quarter of a percentage point, by the end of 2022.
Federal Reserve officials also expected that inflation in the United States of America (USA) will reach 2.6% next year, compared to 2.2% expected in September, and that the unemployment rate will fall to 3.5%.
Federal Reserve officials also expected inflation to reach 2.6% next year, compared to 2.2% expected in September, and that the unemployment rate would fall to 3.5%.
On the other hand, Jerome Powell considered that the new “Omicron” mutant of the Coronavirus may pose risks to the United States economy.
And he said in a statement published last Monday, that the spread of this strain could slow the recovery of the US economy and the labor market and raise doubts about inflation.
Powell acknowledged that the factors that raise inflation in the United States "will continue for a long time next year."
He pledged that the US authorities would use all their tools to support the economy, strengthen the labor market and prevent high inflation from becoming entrenched.
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