Fed’s Bullard Says Labor Policy Is Key to Cut Joblessness

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said fiscal policies are needed to reduce the 8.1 percent U.S. unemployment rate and additional asset purchases by the Fed, or quantitative easing, would risk a surge in inflation.

“It may be better to focus on labor market policies to directly address unemployment instead of taking further risks with monetary policy,” Bullard said in Louisville, Kentucky. “If anything, the committee may be trying to do too much with monetary policy, risking monetary instability for the U.S. and the global economy.”