Powell, Jerome H., 1953- and Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.), 1935-. Statement Before the Committee on Financial Services, U.S. House of Representatives, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System : Documents Relating to the COVID-19 Pandemic. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/archival/6116/item/609030, accessed on January 9, 2025.

Title: Statement Before the Committee on Financial Services, U.S. House of Representatives

Author: Powell, Jerome H.
Date: December 2, 2020
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image-container-0 For release at 4:30 p.m. EST December 1, 2020 Statement by Jerome H. Powell Chair Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System before the Committee on Financial Services U.S. House of Representatives December 2, 2020
image-container-1 Chairwoman Waters, Ranking Member McHenry, and other members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to update you on our ongoing measures to address the hardship wrought by the pandemic. Our public health professionals continue to deliver our most important response, and we remain grateful for their service. The Federal Reserve, along with others across government, is using its policies to help alleviate the economic burden. Since the pandemic’s onset, we have taken forceful actions to provide relief and stability, to ensure that the recovery will be as strong as possible, and to limit lasting damage to the economy. Economic activity has continued to recover from its depressed second-quarter level. The reopening of the economy led to a rapid rebound in activity, and real gross domestic product, or GDP, rose at an annual rate of 33 percent in the third quarter. In recent months, however, the pace of improvement has moderated. Household spending on goods, especially durable goods, has been strong and has moved above its pre-pandemic level. In contrast, spending on services remains low largely because of ongoing weakness in sectors that typically require people to gather closely, including travel and hospitality. The overall rebound in household spending is due, in part, to federal stimulus payments and expanded unemployment benefits, which provided essential support to many families and individuals. In the labor market, more than half of the 22 million jobs that were lost in March and April have been regained, as many people were able to return to work. As with overall economic activity, the pace of improvement in the labor market has moderated. Although we welcome this
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