All rights reserved. But negotiations are stalling as Democrats and Republicans remain far apart on issues such as unemployment insurance and assistance for renters and homeowners. Powell continues to warn the U.S. economy needs more stimulus to recover from the pandemic. They can read the article in full after signing up for a free account. Last modified on Tue 6 Oct 2020 14.39 EDT. Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. "Even if policy actions ultimately prove to be greater than needed, they will not go to waste," Powell said in a speech Tuesday to the National Association for Business Economics. By registering, you agree to our T&C and Privacy Policy. However, hours later, President Trump dashed hopes for any quick deal with lawmakers, saying he'd called a halt to negotiations until after the November election. The US has replaced roughly half of the 22m jobs lost in March and April during the lockdown, and the unemployment rate fell to 7.9% in September, from nearly 15% in April. The forecast comes as carriers endure record drops in passenger numbers and revenue and have announced plans to cut tens of thousands of jobs if no new government financial support is forthcoming. 198402868E. "The right thing to do and the smart thing to do is to continue to support those people as they return to their old jobs or find new jobs in different sectors of the economy," Powell added. Powell said Tuesday it may be some time before people whose jobs require a lot of in-person contact can safely return to work. Mr Powell said that the path of the economy would depend to a very high extent on the course of the virus and the measures taken to keep it in check. The labor market also remains under stress: Almost half the 22 million jobs lost in the spring have not been replaced. But the risks associated with overly generous relief were smaller, Powell said: “Even if policy actions ultimately prove to be greater than needed, they will not go to waste.”. “On balance, the pace of the recovery looks like it has slowed since the cases began that spike in June,” said Mr Powell, although he stressed that it was too early to say how large and sustained the slowdown in recovery would be. "While the combined effects of fiscal and monetary policy have aided the solid recovery of the labor market so far, there is still a long way to go," the Fed chairman said. Earlier, the Federal Open Market Committee announced it would keep interest rates unchanged at 0 to 0.25 per cent indefinitely, until it was “confident that the economy has weathered recent events”. No. “At this early stage, I would argue that the risks of policy intervention are still asymmetric. They’re not in competition with each other,” he said. Over the weekend, Trump seemed eager for additional relief, tweeting, "OUR GREAT USA WANTS & NEEDS STIMULUS.". Separately, Fed officials also announced that they would extend their emergency lending programs until the end of the year.