Of course, while we’re doing better than expected, we still have a ways to go. The labor market remains deeply depressed, and employment is far short of the Federal Reserve’s maximum employment goal. We are also keenly aware that the harm from higher unemployment has fallen even more than usual on those low-income households least able to bear it.
Some businesses, particularly those in high-contact and personal-service industries, largely have been left out of the recovery. Inflation is well below our 2 percent longer-run goal, and some measures of inflation expectations have ticked down.