The current consensus is that the Fed is likely to raise rates at some point in 2015, with its June 17 meeting being the most likely date for the first increase. Analysts expect the
The U-6 rate fell sharply in January to 12.7 percent. While it is down 170 basis points from January of last year, the trend has been more volatile than in the main unemployment rate, which steadily declined (Ben Berkowitz).To be honest, these really are Great Depression-type numbers. But over the years “unemployment” has been redefined so many times that it doesn’t mean the same thing that it once did. The government tells us that the official unemployment rate is about 7 percent, but that number is almost meaningless at this point. A number that I find much more useful is the employment-population ratio. According to the employment-population ratio, the percentage of working age Americans that actually have a job has been below 59 percent for more than four years in a row. That means that more than 41 percent of all working age Americans do not have a job (Michael Synder)
fed funds rate to finish 2014 at its current level, rise to a level in the range of 0.5% to 1.0% by the end of 2015, and hit 2.0% to 2.25% by year-end 2016.The U-6 rate fell sharply in January to 12.7 percent. While it is down 170 basis points from January of last year, the trend has been more volatile than in the main unemployment rate, which steadily declined (Ben Berkowitz).To be honest, these really are Great Depression-type numbers. But over the years “unemployment” has been redefined so many times that it doesn’t mean the same thing that it once did. The government tells us that the official unemployment rate is about 7 percent, but that number is almost meaningless at this point. A number that I find much more useful is the employment-population ratio. According to the employment-population ratio, the percentage of working age Americans that actually have a job has been below 59 percent for more than four years in a row. That means that more than 41 percent of all working age Americans do not have a job (Michael Synder)