has delivered benefits to groups that have historically been disadvantaged in the labor market. for example, african americans and hispanics have experienced persistently higher unemployment rates than whites for many decades. 10 however, those unemployment rate gaps have narrowed as the labor market has strengthened, and there is some indication of an extra benefit to these groups as the unemployment rate moves into very low territory. 11 likewise, although unemployment rates for less - educated workers are persistently higher than they are for their more - educated counterparts, such gaps appear to narrow as the labor market strengthens. 12 and wage increases in the past couple of years have been strongest for less - educated workers and for those at the lower end of the wage distribution. 13 scope of the review our existing monetary policy strategy is laid out in the committee ’ s statement on longer - run goals and monetary policy strategy. 14 first adopted in january 2012, the statement has been reaffirmed at the start of each subsequent year, including earlier this year with unanimous support from all 17 fomc participants. the statement indicates that the committee seeks to mitigate deviations of inflation from 2 percent and deviations see cajner and others ( 2017 ) for a careful examination of how labor market differentials by race and ethnicity have evolved over time. see aaronson and others ( 2019 ) for evidence on the relative behavior of unemployment rates by race and ethnicity in a strong labor market. the authors find similar patterns for labor force participation rates and for employment - to - population ratios. disparities in labor market outcomes are also evident between urban and rural areas of the united states. however, these gaps have not narrowed as the labor market has strengthened. the box “ employment disparities between rural and urban areas ” in the board ’ s february 2019 monetary policy report examines these disparities in more detail ; see board of governors ( 2019, pp. 10 - 12 ). see also weingarden ( 2017 ). wage gains for workers with different wage levels and with different levels of education can be calculated using data from the current population survey from the bureau of labor statistics. the economic policy institute ( 2019 ) provides convenient tabulations of these data. the statement is available on the board ’ s website at https : / / www. federalreserve. gov / monetarypolicy / files / fomc _ longerrungoals. pdf. - 6of employment from assessments of its maximum level. in doing so, the fomc recognizes that

yves mersch : interview with bloomberg interview with mr yves mersch, member of the executive board of the european central bank, and bloomberg, conducted by mr piotr skolimowski and ms carolynn look on 6 february 2018. * * * bis general manager augustine carstens said in his speech in frankfurt the other day that there is a “ strong case ” for authorities to rein in digital currencies because of their links to the established financial system. how would you respond? the general manager of the bis is usually also reflecting the views that are expressed around the table when central bankers come together. you won ’ t be surprised to know that we at the ecb are fully in line with his views and we have similar worries, or similar endeavours we are working on. the question is not so much that these virtual currencies ( vcs ) are already at a level that would cause huge disruption in the real economy, but we are currently more concerned about the social and psychological effect they seem to have. in this respect money has to do with confidence and that ’ s why we, central bankers, feel that we have a certain role to play to preserve confidence of the public in our legal tender. there is so much money flowing in that it ’ s like a gold rush – but there is no gold. what specific role can the ecb as a banking supervisor play in reining in digital currencies? it ’ s important to stress that we are a supervisor and not regulator. but supervisors can also impose certain requirements in terms of risk mitigation and prudent behaviour. but by and large, many banks out of their own initiative have already taken clear positions that they will not venture into this gold rush. but that being said, it ’ s not only the question of the bank supervisor. also from the monetary policy perspective, the central bank has a mandate to promote sound and efficient payment systems. from that point of view, it remains appropriate that we keep a clear distinction between virtual private initiatives, not backed by anyone, and trusted public currencies that are legal tender and backed by whole economies. are you coordinating your efforts with other authorities? we are obviously in a constant dialogue with other authorities, whose mandate is to maintain the integrity of the markets, protection of investors and of consumers. therefore we should have a deeper reflection on where the action is needed. there is an area of investor protection, then there is oversight of the financial market infrastructure. if