Janet Yellen at the Providence Chamber of Commerce, Providence, Rhode Island May 22, 2015:
Today I would like to speak with you about the outlook for the U.S. economy. I should note at the outset that my remarks today reflect my own views and not necessarily those of others in the Federal Reserve System.
The Recession and the Recovery So Far
As you all know, the economy is still recovering from the Great Recession, the worst downturn since the terrible episode of the 1930s that inspired its name. The recession began more than seven years ago, the result of the collapse in the housing market and the financial crisis that it sparked. Rhode Islanders are well aware of the great toll taken by the recession. The unemployment rate hit 10 percent nationally, and it reached 11.3 percent here in Rhode Island. Nationally, payrolls shrank by some 8-1/2 million, about 6 percent, and the 41,000 jobs lost in Rhode Island represented close to 8 percent of the state's employment. U.S. economic output fell more than 4 percent nationally, the most since the Great Depression, and many of the hardest-hit industries, including housing construction and manufacturing, are important to the Rhode Island economy.
