In addition, asset purchases are expected to continue at least at their current pace until substantial further progress has been made toward our goals. In assessing substantial further progress, I will be looking for realized progress toward both our employment and inflation goals.
I will be looking for indicators that show the progress on employment is broad based and inclusive rather than focusing solely on the aggregate headline unemployment rate, especially in light of the significant decline in labor force participation since the spread of COVID and the elevated unemployment rate for workers in the lowest-wage quartile and other disproportionately affected groups.11 Likewise, while I will carefully monitor inflation expectations, it will be important to achieve a sustained improvement in actual inflation to meet our average inflation goal.