How full employment became Washington’s creed

WASHINGTON • As incoming US President Joe Biden takes office today, his administration and the Federal Reserve are pointed towards a singular economic goal: Get the job market in the United States back to where it was before the pandemic hit.

The humming labour backdrop that existed 11 months ago – with 3.5 per cent unemployment, stable or rising workforce participation and steadily climbing wages – turned out to be a recipe for lifting all boats, creating economic opportunities for long-disenfranchised groups and lowering poverty rates. And price gains remained manageable and even a touch on the low side. That contrasts with efforts to push the labour market’s limits in the 1960s, which are widely blamed for laying the groundwork for runaway inflation.