WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The US economy is possibly ‘on the verge of recovering’ from the recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin said Sunday, although another risk for some workers.
“Vaccines are starting, and the number of cases and hospitalizations is declining. Excessive savings and fiscal stimulus should help fund the pent-up demand of consumers freed by vaccines and warmer weather, ‘Barkin said in comments prepared for a Credit Suisse investment conference in Asia on Sunday night.
“With this support, the economy has come back most of the way,” he said, with the recently enacted $ 1.9 billion coronavirus federal aid program boosting household incomes and savings, helping keep it still deep to compensate for loss of employment.
“I’m hopeful we’re on the verge of completing the recovery,” Barkin said.
As the health crisis eases, he said U.S. officials should focus on how to facilitate the transition to work for working parents and other people displaced by the pandemic, strengthening education to ensure students do not waste time in the classroom do not suffer, and take other steps. to prevent “lesions”.
‘We need to pay particular attention to programs that allow primary caregivers to return to work. “This includes support for childcare, parental care and safe reopening of schools,” he said.
One bright spot, he said, is that so many of the jobs lost during the crisis are in high turnover, as are housekeepers and waiters. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, those workers changed jobs regularly, a fact that could reduce the overall damage caused by long-term unemployment.
Counting can also adapt more quickly between workers and work, because those with the right skills do not necessarily have to move.
After the pandemic passed, he said officials should focus on “making market forces work” so that government policies do not hinder the creation of tomorrow’s companies as they try to protect today’s companies.
Reporting by Howard Schneider; Edited by Peter Cooney