He noted, however, that 70 percent of the 473 counties in the United States designated as having persistent levels of poverty were in rural areas.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Tuesday he does not feel the probability of a recession “is at all elevated,” and that the country is continuing to see solid economic growth.
But in a visit to a historically black university in the Mississippi Delta, Powell said many rural areas have not benefited from the national prosperity. He said those areas need special support, such as access to affordable credit to start small businesses and high-quality education to train workers.
“We know that prosperity has not been felt as much in some areas, including many rural places,” Powell said in an address to a conference on economic development at Mississippi Valley State University. “Poverty remains a challenge in many rural communities.”
Overall, unemployment remains near a half-century low and describes economic output as continuing at a “solid pace,” Powell said during a discussion with students at Mississippi Valley State University.
