*  *  *  It is a pleasure to be with you today to speak about the current state of the U.S. economy. As you know, the economy appears to be engaged in a gradual process of recovery. As has often been the case in previous recoveries, however, the pace and breadth of the expansion thus far have been uneven.
In particular, production and aggregate income have increased strongly in the past few quarters, but the labor market has been surprisingly weak. The most recent data suggest that the labor market is improving gradually; but the question of whether this improvement is fundamental and durable will take some time to answer.