state one of the particular strengths of new york state is its diversity — and this is especially true from an economic perspective. in western and central new york there are top - tier universities, manufacturing businesses, a thriving professional services industry, as well as popular tourist destinations. since the 2008 financial crisis, the declining population trend in upstate new york of earlier decades had largely stabilized. in recent years, new businesses had sprung up and unemployment had fallen to historic lows. 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches all of this was against the backdrop of a strong national economy. at the start of the year, most forecasts anticipated continued moderate growth throughout 2020 and into 2021. according to the data for april, the unemployment rate now stands at a staggering 14. 7 percent — a figure i hoped that i would never see in my lifetime, and one that is sure to get worse before it gets better. if i think back to the economic picture of february, nobody could foresee this would be our reality within a few short months. it ’ s likely that the latest numbers do not reveal the full extent of the financial devastation faced by millions of american families. the data don ’ t capture those who had to leave their jobs, either for their own health or to take care of loved ones. many more people have had their hours reduced or have been forced to take a pay cut. it ’ s going to be some time before we have a detailed understanding of the full economic effects of the public health measures necessary to combat the coronavirus. what we do know is that the pandemic has put a large question mark over the positive trends experienced in our state, as well as the nation as a whole. as social distancing measures are relaxed, we will get a better understanding of how different industries are affected. we know that travel, hospitality, and retail have all been hard hit. what we don ’ t know is what the shape or timescale of the recovery will be. it ’ s going to be some time before we have a clearer view of the effects on other industries, including autos, higher education, manufacturing, and professional services. our response despite this extraordinary uncertainty, at the federal reserve we worked quickly to put measures in place to support the economy and set the foundation for a strong recovery. during the first half of march, the federal open market committee ( fomc ) brought the target range for the federal funds rate to near zero. 1 the fomc has indicated

##mic and foster conditions for a strong and sustained recovery. 1 see board of governors of the federal reserve system, federal reserve issues fomc statement, march 3, 2020 ; and board of governors of the federal reserve system, federal reserve issues fomc statement, march 15, 2020. 2 see board of governors of the federal reserve system, federal reserve issues fomc statement, april 29, 2020. 3 see board of governors of the federal reserve system, federal reserve announces extensive new measures to support the economy, march 23, 2020. 4 for announcements of the various programs, see board of governors of the federal reserve system, federal reserve board announces establishment of a commercial paper funding facility ( cpff ) to support the flow of credit to households and businesses, march 17, 2020 ; board of governors of the federal reserve system, federal reserve board announces establishment of a primary dealer credit facility ( pdcf ) to support the credit needs of households and businesses, march 17, 2020 ; board of governors of the federal reserve system, federal reserve board broadens program of support for the flow of credit to households and businesses by establishing a money market mutual fund liquidity facility ( mmlf ), march 18, 2020 ; board of governors of the federal reserve system, federal reserve announces extensive new measures to support the economy, march 23, 2020 ; board of governors of the federal reserve system, federal reserve will establish a facility to facilitate lending to small businesses via the small business administration ’ s paycheck protection program ( ppp ) by providing term financing backed by ppp loans, april 6, 2020 ; and board of governors of the federal reserve system, federal reserve takes additional actions to provide up to $ 2. 3 trillion in loans to support the economy, april 9, 2020. 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches