Accuracy of jobs data is ‘good enough’ for Fed decision making despite revisions, Powell sayspublished at 21:02 BST
21:02 BST
Before he finished speaking, Powell was asked about revisions to employment data recently released from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which point to a weaker US jobs situation at the start of the year than previously thought.
Powell says the revisions are primarily due to how the data is collected and the low response rate from employers to surveys from the bureau that compiles the data. This means that often the most reliable data is several weeks behind, he says.
“We want higher response rates, and we need those to have less volatile data,” he says, “And the way to get that is to make sure that the agencies that collect the data have sufficient resources to drive higher response rates. It’s not a complicated problem, but that’s what it takes.”
However, the monthly data they get is still “good enough for us to do our work,” Powell says.
The Fed boss is also asked if the central bank would have cut rates earlier had the jobs numbers correctly reflected the less abundant jobs situation previously.
“You know, we have to live life looking through the
windshield rather than the rear view mirror,” he says. “All I can tell you is we see where we are now and
we take appropriate action and we took that appropriate action today.”