##ft, fabian lange, and matthew j. notowidigdo ( 2013 ), “ duration dependence and labor market conditions : evidence from a field experiment, ” quarterly journal of economics, vol. 128 ( 3 ), pp. 1123 – 67 ; and rand ghayad ( 2014 ), “ the jobless trap ( pdf ), ” unpublished paper, northeastern university, department of economics. see, among others, louis s. jacobson, robert j. lalonde, and daniel g. sullivan ( 1993 ), “ earnings losses of displaced workers, ” american economic review, vol. 83 ( september ), pp. 685 – 709 ; steven j. davis and till von wachter ( 2011 ), “ recessions and the costs of job loss ( pdf ), ” brookings papers on economic activity, fall, pp. 1 – 55 ; till von wachter, jae song, and joyce manchester ( 2009 ), “ long - term earnings bis central bankers ’ speeches brownlee was an apprentice plumber and skilled construction worker when the recession hit, and he saw his wages drop sharply as he scrambled for odd jobs and temporary work. he is doing better now, but still working for a lower wage than he earned before the recession. vicki lira lost her full - time job of 20 years when the printing plant she worked in shut down in 2006. then she lost a job processing mortgage applications when the housing market crashed. vicki faced some very difficult years. at times she was homeless. today she enjoys her part - time job serving food samples to customers at a grocery store but wishes she could get more hours. vicki lira is one of many americans who lost a full - time job in the recession and seem stuck working part time. the unemployment rate is down, but not included in that rate are more than seven million people who are working part time but want a full - time job. as a share of the workforce, that number is very high historically. i have described the experiences of dorine, jermaine, and vicki because they tell us important things that the unemployment rate alone cannot. first, they are a reminder that there are real people behind the statistics, struggling to get by and eager for the opportunity to build better lives. second, their experiences show some of the uniquely challenging and lasting effects of the great recession. recognizing and trying to understand these effects helps provide a clearer picture of the progress we have made in the recovery,

or expand a business. there is little doubt that without these actions, the recession and slow recovery would have been far worse. these different measures have the same goal – to encourage consumers to spend and businesses to invest, to promote a recovery in the housing market, and to put more people to work. together they represent an unprecedentedly large and sustained commitment by the fed to do what is necessary to help our nation recover from the great recession. for the many reasons i have noted today, i think this extraordinary commitment is still needed and will be for some time, and i believe that view is widely shared by my fellow policymakers at the fed. in this context, recent steps by the fed to reduce the rate of new securities purchases are not a lessening of this commitment, only a judgment that recent progress in the labor market means our aid for the recovery need not grow as quickly. earlier this month, the fed bis central bankers ’ speeches reiterated its overall commitment to maintain extraordinary support for the recovery for some time to come. this commitment is strong, and i believe the fed ’ s policies will continue to help sustain progress in the job market. but the scars from the great recession remain, and reaching our goals will take time. in the meanwhile, the federal reserve will continue to expand its efforts to promote community development. the board and each of the 12 reserve banks have community development staff members who focus on improving the availability of financial services in low - and moderate - income communities. they help bankers comply with the community reinvestment act, but they are also a source of research and a facilitator of communication among financial institutions and practitioners to identify and share best practices. this conference is one example of how the fed pursues those goals, and i would like to mention a few of the fed ’ s other community development initiatives that i find particularly promising. in 2012, the federal reserve bank of san francisco partnered with the low income investment fund ( liif ), a community development financial institution that bridges the gap between low - income neighborhoods and private capital sources, to publish the book investing in what works for america ’ s communities. this book cited innovative and effective community development initiatives across the country and advocated for a “ community quarterback ” model to coordinate initiatives and better leverage funding among groups with similar goals. in a similar way, the federal reserve bank of boston has been the catalyst for the working cities challenge, inspired by its own research on cities that managed to diversify away from a declining,