Fed's Powell tells students not to despair despite tough job market
In a Monday speech, Powell also touched on the impact of the Iran war, saying that longer-term inflation expectations remain in check.
Updated on: March 30, 2026 / 3:01 PM EDT / CBS News
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has a message for young Americans looking for work in a tough job market: Don't be deterred, even as job creation remains weak and the threat of artificial intelligence looms.
The Fed chair, who made the comments on Monday to an undergraduate economics class at Harvard University, covered a lot of ground during his hour-long appearance, including the financial system's capacity to weather future crises. He also touched on inflation amid the war in Iran, saying that longer-term expectations remain in check.
Powell is set to step down from his role as chair in May, when he will be replaced by Kevin Warsh , a former Fed official whom President Trump nominated to the post in January. In the meantime, the Fed is wrangling with economic data showing that the inflation rate remains above the central bank's 2% annual goal, while surging oil prices are pushing up costs at the gas pump and may ripple through the economy.
Perhaps his most resonant message was for the young people in the room, who could soon find themselves on the hunt for a job in a market marred by slow growth. With a stalled labor market, young Americans in particular are struggling to find work .
"There's no denying it's a challenging time to enter the labor market, but it may take some patience and all that, but in the longer term, this economy is going to give you great opportunities," Powell said Monday.