The U.S. Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee released its observations on Wednesday of the state of the U.S. economy, which appeared to be a mixed bag.
The FOMC report said that while the U.S. banking system appeared "sound and resilient" despite multiple U.S. bank collapses this year alone, tight credit conditions could affect the job market when it comes to hiring.
The report said "tighter credit conditions for households and businesses are likely to weigh on economic activity, hiring, and inflation. The extent of these effects remains uncertain."
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The Fed said indicators show U.S. economic activity has been "expanding at a moderate pace." The committee said gains in the U.S. job market have been "robust in recent months," with the unemployment rate remaining low.
The U.S. Department of Labor released a report recently that showed that by the week that ended on July 15, unemployment insurance claims had dropped by 9,000 from the week before.
A recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report released earlier in July found that as worries of a looming recession persisted, the unemployment rate did not remain the same for all groups.
Data showed that Black workers made up around 90% of a recent spike in unemployment. The report found that the unemployment rate among Hispanic workers also went up, reaching about 4.3% in the same period.
The Fed said it hopes to see inflation at a rate of about 2% over the long run and to achieve "maximum employment."
The committee looking at this data "strongly" wants to increase the target range for the federal funds rate to between 5-1/4 and 5-1/2% as well.
The central bank also said it wants to reduce holdings of Treasury securities and agency debt, along with agency mortgage-backed securities.
