United States: 2022 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for the United States

This 2022 Article IV Consultation discusses that the United States (U.S.) has recovered quickly from the pandemic shock. The US economy has staged a strong recovery from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) shock. The positive effects of unprecedented policy stimulus, combined with the advantages of a highly flexible economy, have been clear. Just over two years after the COVID-19 shock, the unemployment rate and other measures of labor force underutilization have returned to end-2019 levels and output is close to its pre-pandemic trend. The Federal Open Market Committee’s decision at its June meeting—to raise rates by 75 basis points and provide forward guidance around a path for the federal funds rate that peaks at close to 4 percent—strikes the right balance. This policy path should serve to create the up-front tightening of financial conditions that will be necessary to quickly bring inflation back to target. More determined action is needed to achieve the administration’s climate goals and to facilitate a smooth, speedy transition to a low carbon economy.