Unemployment Drop May Not Deter Fed From Carrying Out Stimulus

The unexpected drop in the U.S. jobless rate reported today probably won’t dissuade Federal Reserve policy makers from carrying out their program to pump $600 billion into the economy, economists said.

U.S. central bankers are deemphasizing the unemployment rate and are taking a broader look at the health of the labor market, said Vincent Reinhart, the Fed’s chief monetary policy strategist from 2001 until September 2007. That gives them flexibility to alter their easing program in response to changes in other indicators, including payroll growth, he said.