pce ) price index - was nearly 6½ percent. and high inflation is a key concern in many countries around the world. even before russia's invasion of ukraine, the rapid global economic rebound had driven up prices for oil and many other commodities. higher inflation is especially detrimental for those who are least able to meet the growing cost of essentials like food, housing, and transportation. the war in ukraine and the global response present even greater challenges and uncertainty. for example, russia and ukraine are large exporters of key materials, including neon, palladium, and platinum. those materials are used in the production of a wide array of products, from auto parts to computer chips. even before the war, 2 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches manufacturers were confronting shortages of important inputs. further disruptions to these key products could create spillovers to economies across the globe. but there are differences in the ways in which countries are experiencing inflation. in the united states, we are now seeing elevated inflation across many categories of goods and services. meanwhile, in europe, which is heavily dependent on russia for energy, rising prices of oil and natural gas are the biggest concern. and in the middle east, there are fears of a wheat shortage, given the region's reliance on wheat from russia and ukraine. the one bright spot regarding inflation is that longer - run inflation expectations remain well anchored. this anchoring is seen in both market - based measures of expected inflation and in surveys of households and economists. for example, the new york fed's survey of consumer expectations has fielded special survey questions on fiveyear - ahead inflation expectations since 2019, and these expectations have hardly budged since the start of the pandemic. 2 in addition, the pass - through of inflation surprises to revisions in three - year - ahead inflation expectations is about half as large as it was before 2020. 3 that is, medium - term inflation expectations in this survey are less responsive to inflation shocks than they were before the pandemic. economic outlook faced with rising inflation but otherwise strong economies, the federal reserve and other central banks have been moving away from the extraordinarily accommodative stances they took in early 2020. last year, many emerging market central banks raised their policy rates. in december, the bank of england followed suit, followed by the bank of canada this march. closer to home, the fomc decided a little over two weeks ago to raise the target range for the

with today. and just like the united states, other countries have experienced imbalances in demand. since the initial lockdowns, people have spent more of their money on electronics, cars, and furniture - and less on entertainment, travel, and restaurants. 1 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches many nations also showed considerable resilience of economic activity through the omicron wave. but global risks remain. the ba. 2 variant is now fueling a rise in cases in some countries, including china, hong kong, and the united kingdom. their experiences bear close monitoring. in addition, the war in ukraine poses significant risks to food and energy prices, as well as to global economic growth. uniquely american going back to my analogy of factor analysis, there are idiosyncratic components to the pandemic. and i think it's important to note areas where we have had a uniquely american experience in the covid - 19 recovery. first, the amount of direct fiscal support in the united states was larger than what most other countries provided. 1 this created a sizable cushion for many households, giving them the ability to maintain spending through the pandemic and as inflation started to rise. in addition, the u. s. labor market has recovered strongly since the recession trough, and labor shortages here have become more acute than in many other countries. part of the reason for a shortage of labor is that the u. s. labor force participation rate is still about a percentage point below its level prior to the pandemic, in what has become known as the great resignation. a portion of this decline reflects longer - term trends related to the aging of the population. but some left the labor market because they needed to be home to care for young children or elderly relatives. others didn't want to risk exposure to covid at the workplace. and many simply chose early retirement. despite the challenges presented by the omicron wave early this year, the unemployment rate fell to 3. 6 percent in march, bringing it in line with the very low levels seen before the pandemic. with low unemployment, solid wage growth, and ample job openings, all indicators show that the strength of the labor market is at a level consistent with my view of maximum employment. inflationary pressures the other side of our mandate is price stability, and this is where our greatest challenge now lies. inflation is far too high. in february, inflation - as measured by the personal consumption expenditures (