Economy is growing and job market is healing, says KC Fed’s Esther George

The U.S. economy will continue to see “trend growth” and the labor market has “healed fairly rapidly,” Esther George, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, said Friday.

Her comments, delivered at a two-day CityAge event in Kansas City, were made a day after Federal Reserve policymakers, who include George, held off on a long-awaited decision to raise interest rates.

Investors, economists, lenders, borrowers and others have been waiting since June for the first Fed rate increase since the central bank dropped its benchmark rate to zero in late 2008.

George anticipated the question of when the Fed would raise rates.

“I just came from a meeting this week. You got the answer to that question,” George said early in her remarks.

Not yet was the answer the Fed delivered, though George has argued that it is time to start moving interest rates toward normal levels. She did not repeat those comments Friday.

But George made clear that she sees strength in the economy and labor market.

“We have been fortunate to see a labor market that has healed fairly rapidly,” she said, acknowledging that some still struggle to find jobs. “You should continue to see confidence on the part of consumers in terms of … jobs.”

Consumers’ willingness to spend helps propel the economy, given that they account for the large part of economic activity in the United States.

She also noted that housing activity remains “well below” levels suggested by the nation’s demographics, such as population growth and ages.

Combined, housing and consumer confidence offer a positive outlook for the economy in her eyes. George said strong growth in the economy this spring and the weaker growth during the summer probably evened out.

“When we balance out for the year as a whole, we are continuing on a trajectory of trend growth in this country,” George said.

The CityAge event attracted mayors and business leaders for discussions about investments, ideas and collaborations to rebuild America’s cities.

This story was originally published October 30, 2015 at 11:50 AM with the headline "Economy is growing and job market is healing, says KC Fed’s Esther George."