will be able to travel, eat out, and shop in person safely. in addition, the fiscal package enacted in december provides much - needed support to households and businesses until vaccinations are more widespread. moreover, additional measures are currently being discussed in the congress. fiscal support, combined with highly favorable financial conditions and steady progress on vaccinations, are all reasons to be optimistic the economy will experience a strong recovery this year. but the speed of the recovery will also depend on the global picture. we are seeing a slower rollout of immunizations in parts of europe and a more subdued rebound in other parts of the world, which will have an effect on the united states. in addition, the emergence of new strains of the virus could slow the path to a post - covid world. our response given all the factors i mentioned earlier, in january the fomc decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at zero to ¼ percent. the fomc stated that it expects it will be appropriate to maintain this target range until labor market conditions have reached levels consistent with its assessments of maximum employment and inflation has risen to 2 percent and is on track to moderately exceed 2 percent for some time. 7 in addition, the federal reserve will continue to increase its holdings of treasury securities by at least $ 80 billion per month and of agency mortgage backed securities by at least $ 40 billion per month until substantial further progress has been made toward the committee ’ s maximum employment and price stability goals. in other words : despite uncertainties, we are fully committed to supporting the economy through this period and reaching our maximum employment and price stability goals. we will continue to watch and learn and remain committed to using our full range of tools to help assure that the recovery will be as robust as possible. conclusion i ’ ll conclude with this : despite the progress so far in recovering from the recession, some of the numbers that i ’ ve shared are staggering. families, businesses, and communities are struggling. almost a year into the pandemic, there is still so much uncertainty. but despite the near - term challenges, the longer - term outlook for the economy has improved, and our actions of the past year position monetary policy well to support a strong, full recovery and achievement of our goals of maximum employment and price stability. with this progress in mind, i am hopeful for a time soon that looks “ more like normal. " thank you. 1 beverly hirtle, the economic health

john c williams : the economic outlook - getting back to " more like normal " remarks ( via videoconference ) by mr john c williams, president and chief executive officer of the federal reserve bank of new york, at one hundred black men of new york, 25 february 2021. * * * hello, everyone. i ’ m really pleased to be joining your meeting today. your work in bringing together leaders and visionaries in support of black communities across our city is invaluable. we ’ re approaching the one - year mark since the pandemic took hold. at this time last year there was an increasing sense of fear and uncertainty about the future. and the events since then have posed tremendous challenges to families, communities, and the economy. the ongoing human toll is a tragedy we won ’ t forget in our lifetimes. what has been an extraordinary public health crisis also has had profound consequences for the american and global economies. the cause of this recession — a global pandemic — means that our economic future will be determined in large part by the path of the virus and our collective success in overcoming it. we still face many hurdles on the road to recovery from both covid - 19 and the severe economic hardship that has ensued. a lot depends on the success in quickly getting a large part of the public vaccinated against a backdrop of the spread of emerging new strains of the virus. despite these challenges and uncertainties, i have become more optimistic about the mediumterm outlook for the economy. i don ’ t expect our lives to look like they did a year ago — our sense of “ normal ” may be forever altered — but with vaccinations well underway and a significant decline nationwide in confirmed new cases, i do expect that we can start to look toward a time that will be “ more like normal. " in my remarks today i ’ ll set the scene for the economic picture locally, and for the u. s. economy as a whole. i ’ ll also highlight some of the disparities we are seeing in the labor market. finally, i ’ ll share more about the federal reserve ’ s response and how i view the path forward. before i continue, i need to give the standard fed disclaimer that the views i express today are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the federal open market committee ( fomc ) or others in the federal reserve system. dual mandate prior to sharing the outlook, i think it ’ s