Chart 4 (4) reveals that a decrease in hours worked after the 1990s contributed negatively to economic growth. Charts 4 (2)–(4) indicate that both demographic and labor market changes have contributed directly to a declining trend in economic growth (these changes are referred to as the population effect, the labor force effect, and working hour effect).
Third, the Committee stated that it “anticipates that, even after employment and inflation are near mandate-consistent levels, economic conditions may, for some time, warrant keeping the target federal funds rate below levels the Committee views as normal in the longer run.”6 Committee members have differing thoughts on why that may be the case.