Fed chair Powell predicts rapid job growth but warns of COVID risk
The nation’s economy is at a potentially critical turning point, with jobs growing at a rapid clip but at risk if COVID-19 surges, the head of the Federal Reserve said Sunday.
The U.S. saw 916,000 jobs created last month, beating most economists’ expectations, but nationwide the number of new COVID cases is showing a concerning rise, according to the latest Johns Hopkins University data.
“We feel like we’re at a place where the economy is about to start growing much more quickly and job creation coming in much more quickly, so the principal risk to our economy right now really is that the disease would spread again,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in a “60 Minutes” interview on CBS Sunday night.
“It’s going to be smart if people can continue to socially distance and wear masks.”
Although jobs are still way down compared with pre-pandemic conditions, some Fed officials predict job creation on the order of 1 million in a month is possible by the end of the year, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, the number of daily new COVID cases has been increasing this month, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The U.S. has been seeing an average of about 80,000 new COVID cases per day, according to its latest data, up from about 60,000 a day last month.
New York state had 53 COVID-19 deaths on Saturday, according to Gov. Cuomo’s office.
The state’s average COVID positivity rate was 3.27%, and the rate was a little higher in the Big Apple, the governor said.
That compares to rates in the double digits after the winter holidays.
“New York is moving forward fighting the COVID-19 pandemic as we expand eligibility for the vaccine and open pop-up sites to serve the communities hardest hit by the virus across the state,” said Cuomo, who is reeling from scandals over alleged sexual harassment and his handling of deaths at nursing homes during the coronavirus outbreak.
