US Fed chief highlights inequality clouding ‘brightened’ outlook

US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said labour force participation had declined 4 percentage points for Black and Hispanic women compared with 1 percentage point for white women and about 2 percentage points for all men.

United States Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says the economic outlook has “clearly brightened” in the United States but the recovery remains too uneven with lower income groups lagging behind. In a speech on Monday, Powell cited a number of reasons that US growth prospects have brightened. “We are not out of the woods yet, but I am glad to say that we are now making real progress,” Powell said in remarks to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, citing rising vaccination levels, increased government support and more business reopenings across the country.