You are senior economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and will prepare a monetary policy recommendation for the November 2 3, 2021 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. You have been asked to use data released from January 2020 to September 30, 2021. Use the Primer on Monetary Policy and the focus questions below to inform your analysis and make your recommendation.

question

Based on this information, what is the condition of the labor market?

Why do workers enter and exit the labor market?

Why is it important to use and compare these different measures?

What does each one tell you?

Is unemployment a leading or lagging indicator?

How can you use this to understand economic trends? Why are labor market conditions important to the Fed when making monetary policy decisions?