Fed’s Goolsbee: Current employment numbers are very solid

President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Austan Goolsbee commented, Friday, on the labour market data for April, saying that it is good, with 175,000 new jobs created.

Following these remarks, the US Dollar Index bounced back from daily lows and was last noted down 0.25% at 105.06.

Nonfarm Payrolls in the US rose 175,000 in April, the US Bureau of Labour Statistics reported on Friday. This reading followed the 315,000 increase (revised from 303,000) recorded in March and came in below the market expectation of 243,000.

Key Quotes

“We hit a bump on inflation at the start of the year.”

“I don’t like committing even to the next meeting.”

“Fed must get comfort that recent inflation is not a sign of reacceleration.”

“What happened in the job market this year has to be re-normed based on estimates of higher immigration; still trying to analyze that.”

“Monetary policy is restrictive; real federal funds rate is as high as it has been in decades.”

“We have to get more comfort on whether the Fed is still on a path to lower inflation.”

“If the Fed remains restrictive too long, it will have to think about the employment side of the mandate; but current numbers are solid.”