In remarks prepared for a webinar hosted by the New England Council, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren stated that the unemployment rate could peak at close to 20% as more Americans lose jobs in the shutdowns put in place across the country to limit the spread of the coronavirus,
Businesses will face weak demand as long as consumers and workers are worried about public health, and the unemployment rate is likely to stay in the double digits at the end of the year, Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren said Tuesday.
“Unfortunately, even by the end of the year, I expect the unemployment rate to remain at double-digit levels,” he said.
Policymakers will take action to help reduce the length of time that people are out of work and some of the Fed’s emergency lending facilities helped to ease the pressure in short-term funding markets, Rosengren said.