3  The numerical values for unemployment and inflation included in the guidance are thresholds, not triggers; that is, depending on economic circumstances at the time, the Committee may judge that it is not appropriate to begin raising its target for the federal funds rate as soon as one or both of the thresholds is reached.
The 6-1/2 percent threshold for the unemployment rate should not be interpreted as the Committee’s longer-term objective for unemployment; because monetary policy affects the economy with a lag, the first increase in the target for the funds rate will likely have to occur when the unemployment rate is still above its longer-run normal level.