Inflation is the biggest problem, Fed's Goolsbee says
SPY•Goolsbee says inflation is the main concern
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee is more concerned about too-high inflation than about any labor market weakness, though it is not clear if that worry translated into support for the interest-rate hike that a few of his colleagues wanted last month.
"The biggest problem facing our economy right now is not the collapse of industry and the collapse of jobs; it's that the prices have been rising too fast. We got an inflation problem and people hate inflation," Goolsbee said in a video published by Wired on Tuesday and recorded on June 22. Looking at indicators like the unemployment rate, the hiring rate and the layoff rate, he said, "They say labor market is stable, without being good, is how I characterize it."
Fed holds rates steady as traders weigh September move
The Fed on July 29 left the policy rate unchanged in the 3.50%-3.75% range, with three of the Fed's 12 voting policymakers dissenting in favor of a rate hike instead.
