Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen painted an optimistic picture of the health of the U.S. economy, but she noted worries about slowing job creation, suggesting that interest rates would not rise until the labor market shows more signs of life, The Washington Post reported yesterday. Analysts greeted the comments as a sign that the central bank is not likely to raise rates in June. Yellen emphasized the progress that the economy continues to make in recovering from the Great Recession but she called last Friday's jobs report, "disappointing" and "concerning.” Yellen said that the current level of interest rates is "generally appropriate," but that she expects the Fed to raise rates in the future, "provided that labor market conditions strengthen further and inflation continues to make progress toward our 2 percent objective." The weak jobs report had raised a new batch of questions about the recovery, to go along with uncertainties over global growth, a slowdown of productivity growth in America and the possibility that Great Britain could vote later this month to exit the European Union.
