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Four and a half years after COVID-19's arrival, the worst of the pandemic-related economic distortions are fading. Inflation has declined significantly. The labor market is no longer overheated, and conditions are now less tight than those that prevailed before the pandemic. Supply constraints have normalized. And the balance of the risks to our two mandates has changed. Our objective has been to restore price stability while maintaining a strong labor market, avoiding the sharp increases in unemployment that characterized earlier disinflationary episodes when inflation expectations were less well anchored. We have made a good deal of progress toward that outcome. While the task is not complete, we have made a good deal of progress toward that outcome.

在新冠病毒到来四年半后，与疫情相关的最严重的经济扭曲正在消退。通货膨胀已明显下降。劳动力市场不再过热，现在的状况也不如疫情前那么紧俏。供给限制已经正常化。我们两项任务的风险平衡已经发生了变化。我们的目标是恢复价格稳定的同时保持强劲的劳动力市场，避免失业率急剧上升，这是通胀预期没有充分锚定时通常会出现的早期去通胀特征。我们已经朝着这个目标取得了很大进展。虽然任务尚未完成，但我们已经朝着这一结果取得了很大进展。

Today, I will begin by addressing the current economic situation and the path ahead for monetary policy. I will then turn to a discussion of economic events since the pandemic arrived, exploring why inflation rose to levels not seen in a generation, and why it has fallen so much while unemployment has remained low.

今天，我将首先讨论当前的经济形势和货币政策的未来路径。然后，我将转向对疫情以来经济事件的讨论，探讨为什么通货膨胀上升到一代人以来的最高水平，以及为什么通胀率下降如此之多，而失业率却保持在低位。

Near-Term Outlook for Policy

近期政策展望

Let's begin with the current situation and the near-term outlook for policy.

让我们从当前的形势和近期政策前景开始。

For much of the past three years, inflation ran well above our 2 percent goal, and labor market conditions were extremely tight. The Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) primary focus has been on bringing down inflation, and appropriately so. Prior to this episode, most Americans alive today had not experienced the pain of high inflation for a sustained period. Inflation brought substantial hardship, especially for those least able to meet the higher costs of essentials like food, housing, and transportation. High inflation triggered stress and a sense of unfairness that linger today.

在过去三年中的大部分时间里，通胀率远高于我们2%的目标，劳动力市场状况非常紧俏。联邦公开市场委员会（FOMC）的主要关注点一直是降低通胀，这无疑是合适的。在这次事件之前，如今健在的大多数美国人都没有持续经历过高通胀的痛苦。通胀带来了巨大的困难，特别是对于那些最无力支付食品、住房和交通等必需品更高成本的人来说。高通胀引发了压力和不公平感，这种感觉一直徘徊不去。

Our restrictive monetary policy helped restore balance between aggregate supply and demand, easing inflationary pressures and ensuring that inflation expectations remained well anchored. Inflation is now much closer to our objective, with prices having risen 2.5 percent over the past 12 months (figure 1) . After a pause earlier this year, progress toward our 2 percent objective has resumed. My confidence has grown that inflation is on a sustainable path back to 2 percent.

我们的限制性货币政策有助于恢复总供需平衡，缓解通胀压力，并确保通胀预期保持良好锚定。通货膨胀现在更接近我们的目标，物价在过去12个月中上涨了2.5%（图1）。继年初有所凝滞之后，我们朝着2%的目标又取得了进展。我越来越有信心，通胀率正沿着可持续的道路回到2%。

Turning to employment, in the years just prior to the pandemic, we saw the significant benefits to society that can come from a long period of strong labor market conditions: low unemployment, high participation, historically low racial employment gaps, and, with inflation low and stable, healthy real wage gains that were increasingly concentrated among those with lower incomes.

谈到就业，在疫情前的几年里，我们看到了长期强劲的劳动力市场状况可以给社会带来的巨大好处：低失业率、高参与率、历史上较低的种族就业差距，以及在通胀率低且稳定的情况下，健康的实际工资增长越来越集中在低收入人群中。

Today, the labor market has cooled considerably from its formerly overheated state. The unemployment rate began to rise over a year ago and is now at 4.3 percent—still low by historical standards, but almost a full percentage point above its level in early 2023 (figure 2). Most of that increase has come over the past six months. So far, rising unemployment has not been the result of elevated layoffs, as is typically the case in an economic downturn. Rather, the increase mainly reflects a substantial increase in the supply of workers and a slowdown from the previously frantic pace of hiring. Even so, the cooling in labor market conditions is unmistakable. Job gains remain solid but have slowed this year. Job vacancies have fallen, and the ratio of vacancies to unemployment has returned to its pre-pandemic range. The hiring and quits rates are now below the levels that prevailed in 2018 and 2019. Nominal wage gains have moderated. All told, labor market conditions are now less tight than just before the pandemic in 2019—a year when inflation ran below 2 percent. It seems unlikely that the labor market will be a source of elevated inflationary pressures anytime soon. We do not seek or welcome further cooling in labor market conditions.

如今，劳动力市场已从之前的过热状态大幅降温。失业率在一年多前开始上升，目前为4.3%，以历史标准衡量仍然较低，但比2023年初的水平高出将近整整一个百分点（图2）。其中大部分上升是在过去六个月中实现的。到目前为止，失业率上升并不是裁员增加的结果，而裁员是经济衰退时期的典型情况。相反，这一增长主要反映了工人供给的大幅增加以及之前疯狂的招聘速度有所放缓。即便如此，劳动力市场状况的降温是毋庸置疑的。就业增长保持稳健，但今年有所放缓。职位空缺下降，职位空缺与失业的比率已回到疫情前的水平。招聘率和离职率现在低于 2018年和2019年的水平。名义工资增长有所放缓。总而言之，现在的劳动力市场状况不如2019年疫情之前那么紧张，那一年的通胀率低于2%。劳动力市场似乎不太可能在短期内成为通胀压力上升的根源。我们不寻求或欢迎劳动力市场状况进一步降温。

Overall, the economy continues to grow at a solid pace. But the inflation and labor market data show an evolving situation. The upside risks to inflation have diminished. And the downside risks to employment have increased. As we highlighted in our last FOMC statement, we are attentive to the risks to both sides of our dual mandate.

总体而言，经济继续以稳健的速度增长。但通货膨胀和劳动力市场数据显示，情况正在不断变化。通胀的上行风险已经减弱。就业的下行风险也有所增加。正如我们在上一次FOMC中强调的那样，我们关注双重任务中的两方面风险。

The time has come for policy to adjust. The direction of travel is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks.

现在是政策调整的时候了。前进的方向是明确的，降息的时机和步伐将取决于即将到来的数据、不断变化的前景以及风险的平衡。

We will do everything we can to support a strong labor market as we make further progress toward price stability. With an appropriate dialing back of policy restraint, there is good reason to think that the economy will get back to 2 percent inflation while maintaining a strong labor market. The current level of our policy rate gives us ample room to respond to any risks we may face, including the risk of unwelcome further weakening in labor market conditions.

我们将尽一切努力支持强劲的劳动力市场，同时在价格稳定方面力求进一步进展。随着政策约束的适当收敛，我们有充分的理由认为，经济将回到2%的通胀率，同时保持强劲的劳动力市场。我们目前的政策利率水平为我们提供了充足的空间来应对可能面临的任何风险，包括劳动力市场状况不受欢迎的进一步疲软的风险。

The Rise and Fall of Inflation

通胀的起落

Let's now turn to the questions of why inflation rose, and why it has fallen so significantly even as unemployment has remained low. There is a growing body of research on these questions, and this is a good time for this discussion. It is, of course, too soon to make definitive assessments. This period will be analyzed and debated long after we are gone.

现在让我们转向通胀为什么上升的问题，以及为什么在失业率保持在低位的情况下，通胀却下降得如此之大。有关这些问题的研究越来越多，现在是讨论的合适时机。当然，作出明确的评估还为时过早。这段时期仍将被进行后续的分析和辩论。

The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic led quickly to shutdowns in economies around the world. It was a time of radical uncertainty and severe downside risks. As so often happens in times of crisis, Americans adapted and innovated. Governments responded with extraordinary force, especially in the U.S. Congress unanimously passed the CARES Act. At the Fed, we used our powers to an unprecedented extent to stabilize the financial system and help stave off an economic depression.

疫情迅速导致全球经济停摆。这是一个充满不确定性和严重下行风险的时期。正如在危机时经常发生的那样，美国人进行了适应和创新。各国政府作出了强有力的回应，尤其是美国国会一致通过了《CARES法案》。在美联储，我们最大化利用自身权力来稳定金融体系并避免经济萧条。

After a historically deep but brief recession, in mid-2020 the economy began to grow again. As the risks of a severe, extended downturn receded, and as the economy reopened, we faced the risk of replaying the painfully slow recovery that followed the Global Financial Crisis.

在经历了历史上令人深刻但短暂的衰退之后，2020年年中，经济再次开始增长。随着严重偏向下行的风险消退，以及经济重新开放，我们依然面临着风险，可能会再次经历像全球金融危机之后那样缓慢复苏的痛苦。

Congress delivered substantial additional fiscal support in late 2020 and again in early 2021. Spending recovered strongly in the first half of 2021. The ongoing pandemic shaped the pattern of the recovery. Lingering concerns over COVID weighed on spending on in-person services. But pent-up demand, stimulative policies, pandemic changes in work and leisure practices, and the additional savings associated with constrained services spending all contributed to a historic surge in consumer spending on goods.

国会在 2020 年底和 2021 年初提供了大量额外的财政支持。支出在2021年上半年复苏强劲。疫情的持续塑造了经济复苏的模式。对疫情持续的担忧拖累了线下服务的支出。但是压抑的需求、刺激性政策、疫情期间工作和休闲方式的变化，以及因服务支出的限制而导致的额外储蓄，导致了消费者在商品上支出出现历史性激增。

The pandemic also wreaked havoc on supply conditions. Eight million people left the workforce at its onset, and the size of the labor force was still 4 million below its pre-pandemic level in early 2021. The labor force would not return to its pre-pandemic trend until mid-2023 (figure 3). Supply chains were snarled by a combination of lost workers, disrupted international trade linkages, and tectonic shifts in the composition and level of demand (figure 4). Clearly, this was nothing like the slow recovery after the Global Financial Crisis.

疫情还对供给端造成了严重破坏。疫情开始时有 800 万人离开了劳动力市场，劳动力数量仍比 2021 年初疫情前的水平低 400 万人。劳动力直到2023年年中才恢复到疫情前的趋势（图3）。工人流失、国际贸易联系中断以及需求水平以及组成的结构性变化等因素使供应链陷入困境（图4）。显然，这与全球金融危机后的缓慢复苏完全不同。

Enter inflation. After running below target through 2020, inflation spiked in March and April 2021. The initial burst of inflation was concentrated rather than broad based, with extremely large price increases for goods in short supply, such as motor vehicles. My colleagues and I judged at the outset that these pandemic-related factors would not be persistent and, thus, that the sudden rise in inflation was likely to pass through fairly quickly without the need for a monetary policy response—in short, that the inflation would be transitory. Standard thinking has long been that, as long as inflation expectations remain well anchored, it can be appropriate for central banks to look through a temporary rise in inflation.

进入通胀环节。在 2020 年低于通胀目标之后，通胀在 2021 年 3 月和 4 月飙升。最初通胀的爆发是较为集中的，而不是价格广泛的上涨，汽车等受供给减少影响的商品价格上涨幅度极大。我和我的同事们从一开始就判断，这些与疫情相关的因素不会持续存在，因此，通胀的突然上升可能会在货币政策无需响应的情况下相当快地度过——简而言之，通胀将是暂时的。长久以来标准的思维模式是：只要较好的锚定通胀预期，各国央行就应该考虑到通胀的短暂上升。

The good ship Transitory was a crowded one, with most mainstream analysts and advanced-economy central bankers on board. The common expectation was that supply conditions would improve reasonably quickly, that the rapid recovery in demand would run its course, and that demand would rotate back from goods to services, bringing inflation down.

“暂时性假设”是一艘拥挤的船，大多数主流分析师和发达经济体央行行长都参与其中。人们普遍的预期是，供给状况将迅速改善，需求的快速改善将按计划进行，需求将从商品转向服务，从而降低通胀。

For a time, the data were consistent with the transitory hypothesis. Monthly readings for core inflation declined every month from April to September 2021, although progress came slower than expected (figure 5). The case began to weaken around midyear, as was reflected in our communications. Beginning in October, the data turned hard against the transitory hypothesis.9 Inflation rose and broadened out from goods into services. It became clear that the high inflation was not transitory, and that it would require a strong policy response if inflation expectations were to remain well anchored. We recognized that and pivoted beginning in November. Financial conditions began to tighten. After phasing out our asset purchases, we lifted off in March 2022.

在一段时间内，数据与暂时性假设一致。从2021年4月到9月，核心通胀每月都在下降，尽管进展慢于预期（图5）。正如我们在沟通中所反映的，它在年中左右开始减弱。从10月开始，数据与暂时性假设背道而驰。通货膨胀上升，并从商品扩大到服务业。很明显，高通胀不是暂时的，如果通胀预期要保持良好的锚定，就需要采取强有力的政策应对措施。我们认识到了这一点，并从11月开始进行调整。金融状况开始收紧。在逐步停止资产购买后，我们于 2022年3月开始加息。

By early 2022, headline inflation exceeded 6 percent, with core inflation above 5 percent. New supply shocks appeared. Russia's invasion of Ukraine led to a sharp increase in energy and commodity prices. The improvements in supply conditions and rotation in demand from goods to services were taking much longer than expected, in part due to further COVID waves in the U.S.10 And COVID continued to disrupt production globally, including through new and extended lockdowns in China.

到2022年初，总体通胀超过6%，核心通胀超过5%。新的供给冲击出现。俄乌冲突导致能源和大宗商品价格大幅上涨。供给状况的改善和需求从商品转向服务的时间比预期的要长得多，部分原因是美国新一轮的新冠浪潮。而且疫情继续扰乱全球生产，包括中国的封控措施。

High rates of inflation were a global phenomenon, reflecting common experiences: rapid increases in the demand for goods, strained supply chains, tight labor markets, and sharp hikes in commodity prices.12 The global nature of inflation was unlike any period since the 1970s. Back then, high inflation became entrenched—an outcome we were utterly committed to avoiding.

高通胀率是一种全球现象，反映了共同的经历：商品需求迅速增加、供应链紧张、劳动力市场紧张以及大宗商品价格大幅上涨。全球通胀的本质不同于上世纪70年代以来的任何时期。那时，高通胀已经根深蒂固——这是我们尽全力避免的结果。

By mid-2022, the labor market was extremely tight, with employment increasing by over 6-1/2 million from the middle of 2021. This increase in labor demand was met, in part, by workers rejoining the labor force as health concerns began to fade. But labor supply remained constrained, and, in the summer of 2022, labor force participation remained well below pre-pandemic levels. There were nearly twice as many job openings as unemployed persons from March 2022 through the end of the year, signaling a severe labor shortage (figure 6).Inflation peaked at 7.1 percent in June 2022.

2022年年中，劳动力市场极度紧张，就业人数比2021年年中增加了650万以上。劳动力需求的增加在一定程度上是通过工人重新加入劳动力市场来实现的，因为人们对健康的担忧开始消退。但劳动力供给仍然受到限制，2022年夏天的劳动力参与率仍远低于疫情前的水平。从2022年3月到年底，职位空缺数几乎是失业人数的两倍，表明劳动力严重短缺（图6）。通胀在2022年6月达到7.1%的峰值。

At this podium two years ago, I discussed the possibility that addressing inflation could bring some pain in the form of higher unemployment and slower growth. Some argued that getting inflation under control would require a recession and a lengthy period of high unemployment. I expressed our unconditional commitment to fully restoring price stability and to keeping at it until the job is done.

两年前，我在这个讲台上讨论了解决通胀问题可能会带来的一些痛苦，即失业率上升和增长放缓。一些人认为，要控制通胀，就需要经济衰退和长期的高失业率。我表示，我们无条件承诺全面恢复价格稳定，并坚持到工作完成。

The FOMC did not flinch from carrying out our responsibilities, and our actions forcefully demonstrated our commitment to restoring price stability. We raised our policy rate by 425 basis points in 2022 and another 100 basis points in 2023. We have held our policy rate at its current restrictive level since July 2023 (figure 7).

FOMC在履行责任方面没有退缩，我们的行动有力地表明了我们对恢复价格稳定的决心。我们在2022年将政策利率上调了425bp，并在2023年再次上调 100bp。自2023年7月以来，我们一直将政策利率维持在目前的限制性水平（图7）。

The summer of 2022 proved to be the peak of inflation. The 4-1/2 percentage point decline in inflation from its peak two years ago has occurred in a context of low unemployment—a welcome and historically unusual result.

通胀在2022 年夏季达到峰值。在低失业率的背景下，通胀从两年前的峰值下降了4.5%，这是一个可喜且历史罕见的结果。

How did inflation fall without a sharp rise in unemployment above its estimated natural rate?

如何达到通胀下降而失业率没有急剧上升到超过估计的自然失业率的？

Pandemic-related distortions to supply and demand, as well as severe shocks to energy and commodity markets, were important drivers of high inflation, and their reversal has been a key part of the story of its decline. The unwinding of these factors took much longer than expected but ultimately played a large role in the subsequent disinflation. Our restrictive monetary policy contributed to a moderation in aggregate demand, which combined with improvements in aggregate supply to reduce inflationary pressures while allowing growth to continue at a healthy pace. As labor demand also moderated, the historically high level of vacancies relative to unemployment has normalized primarily through a decline in vacancies, without sizable and disruptive layoffs, bringing the labor market to a state where it is no longer a source of inflationary pressures.

疫情相关的供需扭曲以及对能源和大宗商品市场的严重冲击，是高通胀的重要驱动因素，而它们的逆转是通胀下降的关键部分。这些因素的消除花费的时间比预期要长得多，但最终在随后的去通胀中发挥了重要作用。限制性货币政策导致总需求放缓，这与总供给的改善相结合，减轻了通胀压力，同时继续保持良性增长。随着劳动力需求也有所放缓，职位空缺率/失业率已经从历史高位恢复正常，主要是通过职位空缺的下降，而非大规模和破坏性的裁员，使得劳动力市场不再是通胀压力的来源。

A word on the critical importance of inflation expectations. Standard economic models have long reflected the view that inflation will return to its objective when product and labor markets are balanced—without the need for economic slack—so long as inflation expectations are anchored at our objective. That's what the models said, but the stability of longer-run inflation expectations since the 2000s had not been tested by a persistent burst of high inflation. It was far from assured that the inflation anchor would hold. Concerns over de-anchoring contributed to the view that disinflation would require slack in the economy and specifically in the labor market. An important takeaway from recent experience is that anchored inflation expectations, reinforced by vigorous central bank actions, can facilitate disinflation without the need for slack.

关于通胀预期的重要性。长期以来，标准经济模型一直反映出这样一种观点，即只要通胀预期锚定在我们的目标上，当产品和劳动力市场达到平衡时，通胀就会回到其目标，而不会带来经济松弛。模型是这么说的，但自2000年代以来长期通胀预期的稳定性并没有经受过持续高通胀的考验。通胀能否持续锚定还远不能得以保障。对脱锚的担忧促成了一种观点，即去通胀将需要经济（尤其是劳动力市场）的松弛。从最近的经验中得出的一个重要结论是，锚定的通胀预期，加上央行的有力行动，可以促进去通胀，经济松弛并不是必须的。

This narrative attributes much of the increase in inflation to an extraordinary collision between overheated and temporarily distorted demand and constrained supply. While researchers differ in their approaches and, to some extent, in their conclusions, a consensus seems to be emerging, which I see as attributing most of the rise in inflation to this collision.All told, the healing from pandemic distortions, our efforts to moderate aggregate demand, and the anchoring of expectations have worked together to put inflation on what increasingly appears to be a sustainable path to our 2 percent objective.

这种说法将通胀上升主要归咎于（经济）过热以及暂时扭曲的需求与受限的供给之间的非凡碰撞。尽管研究人员在方法上各不相同，在某种程度上他们的结论上也各不相同，但似乎正在形成一种共识，在我看来就是通胀上升的大部分原因应归咎于这场碰撞。总而言之，我们从疫情的扭曲中恢复了过来，我们为缓和总需求所做的努力结合对预期的锚定，共同使通胀走上了一条日益实现2%目标的可持续道路。

Disinflation while preserving labor market strength is only possible with anchored inflation expectations, which reflect the public's confidence that the central bank will bring about 2 percent inflation over time. That confidence has been built over decades and reinforced by our actions.

只有在锚定通胀预期的情况下才有可能在保持劳动力市场强劲的同时实现去通胀，这反映了公众有信心央行将逐渐达到2%左右的通胀目标。这种信心是过去几十年来建立起来的，并且通过我们的行动得以加强。

That is my assessment of events. Your mileage may vary.

这是我对事件的评估。你的可能因人而异。

Conclusion

结论

Let me wrap up by emphasizing that the pandemic economy has proved to be unlike any other, and that there remains much to be learned from this extraordinary period. Our Statement on Longer-Run Goals and Monetary Policy Strategy emphasizes our commitment to reviewing our principles and making appropriate adjustments through a thorough public review every five years. As we begin this process later this year, we will be open to criticism and new ideas, while preserving the strengths of our framework. The limits of our knowledge—so clearly evident during the pandemic—demand humility and a questioning spirit focused on learning lessons from the past and applying them flexibly to our current challenges.

最后，我要强调的是，事实证明，疫情经济与其他任何经济都不同，从这个非常时期中我们还有很多东西需要学习。《关于长期目标和货币政策战略的声明》强调了我们承诺会对规则进行审查，并通过五年一次的彻底公开审查做出适当的调整。当我们在今年晚些时候开始这一进程时，我们将对批评和新想法持开放态度，同时保留我们的框架优势。我们的知识局限性在疫情期间表现得很明显，需要我们保持谦逊和质疑精神，专注于从过去吸取教训，并灵活地将其应用于我们当下的挑战。