pandemic, when the labor market was very strong. similarly, quit rates have been gradually declining, but are above pre - pandemic levels. in addition, the unemployment rate is at a historically low level of 3. 4 percent. and in april, the employment - to - population ratio for those between the ages of 25 and 54 reached the highest level since 2001. the strength of the labor market is evident in parts of the federal reserve's second district. fairfield county in connecticut has fully recovered from the pandemic. northern new jersey is above where it was in 2019. and new york city has also shown remarkable progress, with employment closing in on pre - covid levels. 1 nationally, we are also seeing improvements on the supply side of the labor market. as you'll recall, when businesses reopened after the 2020 pandemic shutdowns, many faced a dire shortage of workers. since then, we have seen a rebound in labor force participation, with the 25 - to 54 - year - old age group slightly above pre - pandemic levels. although overall participation is below where it was before covid, economists at the new york fed have found that this shortfall is more than fully accounted for by the aging — or what i prefer to call " maturing " — of the workforce. 2 this increase in labor force participation has helped alleviate some of the imbalance in the labor market. but with baby boomers increasingly reaching retirement age, population aging will continue to put downward pressure on participation in the medium term. increases in the labor force from immigration, which has picked up from its pandemic lows, can partially offset this, but it is unlikely to to fully undo impact. by continuing use our site, the you agree to our terms of use and privacy statement. you can learn more about how we use cookies by reviewing our privacy statement. the force is a balance achieving balance on the inflation side of our mandate has been more challenging. last june, inflation spiked to a 40 - year high of 7 percent, as measured by the personal consumption expenditures ( pce ) price index. since then, inflation has moderated to 4. 2 percent, in large part due to a decline in energy prices. that's much better than 7 percent, but still more than double our longer - run goal of 2 percent. this inflation target is an important bedrock principle for the fomc. it provides a " north star " for policy decisions and

board of governors of the federal reserve system, statement on longer - run goals and monetary policy strategy, adopted effective january 24, 2012 ; as reaffirmed effective january 31, 2023. 4 john c. williams, a steady anchor in a stormy sea, remarks at snb - frb - bis high - level conference on global risk, uncertainty, and volatility, zurich, switzerland, november 9, 2022. 5 federal reserve bank of new york, short - term inflation expectations decline ; perceived and expected credit conditions mostly unchanged, may 8, 2023. 6 federal reserve bank of new york, global supply chain pressure index. 7 board of governors of the federal reserve system, federal reserve issues fomc statement, may 3, 2023. 8 board of governors of the federal reserve system, plans for reducing the size of the federal reserve's balance sheet, may 4, 2022. by continuing to use our site, you agree to our terms of use and privacy statement. you can learn more about how we use cookies by reviewing our privacy statement.