, 000 in february, as the leisure and hospitality sector recouped about two - thirds of the jobs it lost in december and january. the recovery has progressed more quickly than generally expected and looks to be strengthening. this is due in significant part to the unprecedented fiscal and monetary policy actions i mentioned, which provided essential support to households, businesses, and communities. however, the sectors of the economy most adversely affected by the resurgence of the virus, and by greater social distancing, remain weak, and the unemployment rate — still elevated at 6. 2 percent — underestimates the shortfall, particularly as labor market participation remains notably below pre - pandemic levels. we welcome this progress, but will not lose sight of the millions of americans who are still hurting, including lower - wage workers in the services sector, african americans, hispanics, and other minority groups that have been especially hard hit. the federal reserve ’ s response has been guided by our mandate to promote maximum employment and stable prices for the american people, along with our responsibilities to promote the stability of the financial system. - 3when financial markets came under intense pressure last year, we took broad and forceful actions, deploying both our conventional and emergency lending tools to more directly support the flow of credit. our actions, taken together, helped unlock more than $ 2 trillion in funding to support businesses large and small, nonprofits, and state and local governments between april and december. this support, in turn, has helped keep organizations from shuttering and put employers in both a better position to keep workers on and to hire them back as the recovery continues. our programs served as a backstop to key credit markets and helped restore the flow of credit from private lenders through normal channels. we deployed these lending powers to an unprecedented extent last year. our emergency lending powers require the approval of the treasury and are available only in very unusual circumstances. many of these programs were supported by funding from the cares act. those facilities provided essential support through a very difficult year. they are now closed, and the federal reserve has returned the large majority of the treasury ’ s cares act equity, as required by law. our other emergency lending facilities are following suit imminently, although we recently extended the ppplf ( paycheck protection program lending facility ) for another quarter to continue to support the ppp ( paycheck protection program ). everything the fed does is in service to our public mission. we are committed to

jerome h powell : opening remarks opening remarks by mr jerome h powell, chair of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at the gender and the economy conference, a symposium hosted by the division of consumer and community affairs, board of governors of the federal reserve system, washington, d. c., ( via webcast ), 8 november 2021. * * * good morning. i am pleased to welcome everyone to today ’ s conference on gender and the economy. thank you for being here, for participating, and for lending your expertise on this important topic. we have gathered an impressive lineup of speakers and panelists, who will address a range of timely and important issues. to open the conference, i will give a brief tour of the important research on display here, then discuss how the pandemic has affected the economy along gender lines. research the speakers and panelists will be exploring a wide range of topics, from a historical review of gender issues and the economy to how someone ’ s education options — and the financing of those choices — affect that person ’ s early career and financial stability. speakers and panelists will also be looking at the influence of family and caregiving on career advancement and will discuss timely topics of wealth and retirement. the pandemic and gender the pandemic widened deep - rooted inequities in our economy. along racial, gender, and socioeconomic lines, those least able to bear it, unfortunately, were those who were most affected. women make up the majority of frontline workers, who have been under substantial strain — and subject to personal risks — during the pandemic. additionally, women took on the majority of caring responsibilities, for older relatives and children alike. as schools closed and childcare services shuttered during the worst of the pandemic, that added responsibility and stress made working more difficult for some and took many away from their jobs. these burdens are real and have been an additional challenge during an already challenging time. in a reversal of previous recessions, women suffered more from job losses in the covid - 19 recession than men. in april 2020, the unemployment rate for women was 16. 1 percent, compared with 13. 6 percent for men. the gap persisted until september of that year, and while it has since reversed, it does not account for the many women who left the workforce entirely. 1 increased childcare responsibilities during the pandemic also affected many parents ’ working lives. mothers of small children