The investment outlook also continues to strengthen and is supported by an ongoing need to modernise the capital stock after years of subdued investment, as well as by very favourable financing conditions, an improvement in profitability and solid demand. Since we announced our policy measures in June 2014, financial conditions have eased considerably.
But then on February 3, the job report for January showed a stunning 517,000 increase in employment and the unemployment rate moved down to a level not seen in over 50 years.2 These data indicated that, instead of loosening, the labor market was tightening.