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Newark, DE — Describing the U.S. economy as in “good shape,” Patrick T. Harker, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, said he thinks monetary policy should stay on hold. “My own view right now is that we should hold steady for a while and watch how developments and the data unfold before taking any more action,” he told the audience attending the 2020 Lyons CEEE Economic Forecast event, hosted by the Lyons Companies and the University of Delaware.

Harker, who is a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee this year, said gains in net new jobs and rising wages should support the consumer sector in 2020, but business investment is lagging. He also said it was too early to assess the full impact on the global economy coming from the coronavirus.

He also said that the tight labor markets afforded an opportunity to rethink how workers are recruited and retained. “This can perhaps be done by rethinking job requirements or additional ways of training,” he said.