WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says the economic outlook has “clearly brightened” in the United States, but the recovery remains too uneven with lower income groups lagging behind. In a speech Monday, Powell cited a number of reasons that U.S. growth prospects have brightened including rising vaccination levels, increased government support and more business re-openings nationwide. But he added that the economic downturn has not fallen evenly on all Americans and that those least able to bear the burden have been the hardest hit. Powell said the Fed was focused on these long-standing disparities because they weigh on the country’s productive capacity.
