Powell: "In the near term, risks to inflation are tilted to the upside, and risks to employment to the downside — a challenging situation. There is no risk-free path for policy as we navigate this tension between our employment and inflation goals."
Powell: "Job gains have slowed significantly since earlier in the year. A good part of the slowing likely reflects a decline in the growth of the labor force due to lower immigration and labor force participation, though labor demand has clearly softened as well."
