Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will take the stage Friday morning at the Kansas City Fed’s annual Jackson Hole symposium for what could be one of the most closely watched speeches of his career.
While the economic meeting, set against the backdrop of Wyoming’s Grand Tetons, has long been a venue for major policy signals, this year’s gathering comes at an extraordinary time for the bank. Powell’s term as chair ends next May, and his leadership has been under attack from President Donald Trump, who has publicly berated him for the Fed’s reluctance to cut interest rates, calling him a “stubborn MORON” and “Too Late.”
The theme of this year’s conference, “Labor Markets in Transition,” captures a central challenge of Powell’s tenure. The American workforce is shifting as baby boomers retire and immigration slows, making it harder to judge what full employment looks like and how monetary policy should respond.
