Bloomberg Talks Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack Talks Interest Rates, Jobs Report
Mar 6, 2026
Beth Hammack, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, offers a compact take on monetary policy and labor markets. She reacts to a disappointing jobs report. She discusses whether rates are near neutral and the outlook for holding policy steady. She weighs ideas for shrinking the Fed balance sheet and explains reserve regimes.
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Labor Market Is Stabilizing Despite Weak Jobs
- Beth Hammack sees the labor market as stabilizing with unemployment around 4.3–4.4% despite softer headline jobs figures.
- She attributes stabilization partly to late-year accommodation and ongoing business optimism and investment in her district.
Monetary Policy Appears Close To Neutral
- Hammack judges policy to be around neutral, not overtly restrictive, based on continued investment and improving loan growth she observes.
- Bank lending and businesses taking loans signal to her that the stance is appropriate to press inflation down while supporting growth.
Prepare For A Smooth Chair Transition
- Expect continuity and adaptation when the Fed chair changes; the chair's role is to build consensus across the 19 policymakers.
- Hammack says whoever becomes chair must lead deliberations and she plans to work with them constructively.