” have been proposed but not finalized. both proposals will inform the final rule governing the methodology for capital distributions. see board of governors of the federal reserve system, “ federal reserve board invites public comment on framework that would more closely match regulations for large banking organizations with their risk profiles, ” news release, october 31, 2018 ; board of governors of the federal reserve system, “ federal reserve board seeks comment on proposal to simplify its capital rules for large banks while preserving strong capital levels that would maintain their ability to lend under stressful conditions, ” news release, april 10, 2018. 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches

should not rule out the further use of such policies if economic conditions warrant. economic prospects the accommodative monetary policies i have reviewed today, both traditional and nontraditional, have provided important support to the economic recovery while helping to maintain price stability. as of july, the unemployment rate had fallen to 8. 3 percent from its cyclical peak of 10 percent and payrolls had risen by 4 million jobs from their low point. and despite periodic concerns about deflation risks, on the one hand, and repeated warnings that excessive policy accommodation would ignite inflation, on the other hand, inflation ( except for temporary deviations caused primarily by swings in commodity prices ) has remained near the committee ’ s 2 percent objective and inflation expectations have remained stable. key sectors such as manufacturing, housing, and international trade have strengthened, firms ’ investment in equipment and software has rebounded, and conditions in financial and credit markets have improved. notwithstanding these positive signs, the economic situation is obviously far from satisfactory. the unemployment rate remains more than 2 percentage points above what most fomc participants see as its longer - run normal value, and other indicators – such as the labor force participation rate and the number of people working part time for economic reasons – confirm that labor force utilization remains at very low levels. further, the rate of improvement in the labor market has been painfully slow. i have noted on other occasions that the declines in unemployment we have seen would likely continue only if economic growth picked up to a rate above its longer - term trend. 28 in fact, growth in recent quarters has been tepid, and so, not surprisingly, we have seen no net improvement in the unemployment rate since january. unless the economy begins to grow more quickly than it has recently, the unemployment rate is likely to remain far above levels consistent with maximum employment for some time. in light of the policy actions the fomc has taken to date, as well as the economy ’ s natural recovery mechanisms, we might have hoped for greater progress by now in returning to maximum employment. some have taken the lack of progress as evidence that the financial crisis caused structural damage to the economy, rendering the current levels of unemployment impervious to additional monetary accommodation. the literature on this issue is extensive, and i cannot fully review it today. 29 however, following every previous u. s. recession since world war ii, the unemployment rate has returned close to its pre - recession level, and, although the recent recession was unusually deep,