Bermuda Post

Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Fed official: Getting women back to work is about 'our economic potential as a nation'

Fed official: Getting women back to work is about 'our economic potential as a nation'

America's recovery from the pandemic downturn has been rocky: Millions of workers - especially women - remain on the sidelines, while parts of the economy are booming and inflation is rising.

Getting people back into the labor force and into a job is now key to keep the recovery going and stop the economy from overheating, according to Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari.

"We have to find a way to bring [women] back to work. This is about our economic potential," Kashkari told CNN's Poppy Harlow on Tuesday. "It is certainly about fairness about women and families. But it is also about our economic potential as a nation."

The US Chamber of Commerce said Tuesday that the nation's worker shortage is getting worse by the day.

Experts are struggling to disentangle the biggest reasons why people might choose to stay home, including access to child care, persistent virus risks and higher-than-usual unemployment benefits. Women have been hit particularly hard during the pandemic, as child care responsibilities still tend to fall on them and they were more likely to be forced to leave the workforce.

"I believe we're going to bring women back into the labor force and workers who have been displaced," said Kashkari.

Failing to do so would make the higher inflation readings more concerning, as it would call into question the efficacy of all the government stimulus.

Kashkari believes higher inflation numbers aren't here to stay and are just a temporary effect from the economy getting back to normal. That has been the Fed's go-to line for months now. Economists predict that prices might continue to rise faster than normal during the summer months.

Since the recovery picked up steam in the face of the full reopening, economists, investors and lawmakers have been concerned about the economy overheating.

With plenty of fiscal and monetary stimulus in the system, some worried that too much of a good thing would turn inflation up so high that people might stop spending. That would be very bad news for the consumer spending-dependent US economy.

Worrying about this might not be a bad thing.

"There was a lot of complacency in the years following the Great Financial Crisis when millions of Americans were on the sidelines. So it took 10 years to rebuild the labor market," Kashkari said.

"We cannot have another 10-year recovery. So while I appreciate the fact that some people are worried about inflation, they didn't seem that worried when millions of Americans were on the sidelines in the last recovery," he added.

As of April, America was still down more than 8 million jobs compared with February 2020, before the pandemic lockdown. Economists expect to see 664,000 jobs added back in May in next week's jobs report.

While that would be a great number in normal times, it hardly moves the needle in the pandemic economy.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Bermuda Post
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
'I just lost it' Lowe’s worker fired after 13 years of employment for confronting thieves trying to steal $2K of merchandise
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
×