Fed Says U.S. Labor Market Near or Beyond Full Employment

Unemployment is bit ‘below most estimates of its natural rate’
Report comes out days before Chairman Powell testifies on Hill

Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont, examines the Fed’s February 2018 Monetary Policy Report.(Source: Bloomberg)

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By Craig Torres

February 23, 2018 at 4:00 PM UTC

Updated on

February 23, 2018 at 4:10 PM UTC

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The U.S. labor market is near or beyond full employment, while some pockets of finance are showing signs of rising leverage and high valuations, according to a Federal Reserve report.

“The labor market in early 2018 appears to be near or a little beyond full employment,” the Fed said in the February 2018 Monetary Policy Report published in Washington on Friday. “The unemployment rate is now somewhat below most estimates of its natural rate.”