Joseph Tracy (left) and Jason Bram (right), both senior leaders of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, took questions from the audience at Dominican College on January 15, 2016.
Local business leaders gathered at Dominican College on January 15, 2016, to hear what senior leaders from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York had to say.
Joseph Tracy is the Executive Vice President and Senior Advisor to the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He said that many Americans were surprised that it took so long to reverse the job losses of the recession. 鈥淭he other bit of folklore is that the stronger the downturn, the faster the recovery 鈥� you had these v-shaped recessions and recoveries. We just didn鈥檛 experience that,鈥� he said.
Tracy explained that the recovery took longer because of a changing economy, labor force, and demographics.
Jason Bram, Research Officer, Regional Analysis Function, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, gave a more regional perspective on the economy. He cautioned that the unemployment rates don鈥檛 tell the full story. While U.S. unemployment is generally at the same levels as before the recession, labor participation is lower. 鈥淲hat that means is that the unemployment rate is lower not completely because there are more and more people working,鈥� said Bram, 鈥渂ut to some extent because there are fewer people looking for work or people who are what we call 鈥榰nderemployed.鈥欌��
Bram said that the economy of New York State has outperformed the nation, and New York City has been the leader in the State.
The presentation was co-sponsored by the Palisades Institute and the Rockland Business Association.