Generally, Powell’s comments were a smorgasbord of uninspired gloom. Inflation remains stubbornly unrelenting. Labor market remains unbalanced- too many job openings, too few workers. Overall employment participation remains lower than pre-pandemic levels- thought secondary to wave of retirements due to multiple factors. Wage growth is a good thing, but is too high, and both inflation and wage growth should be closer to 2%.
Upshot- Powell committed to continued increases in interest rates in an effort to attain price and wage stability, and balance in the labor market.