Fed Evans: Jobless Rate Overstates Labor-market Health

A slew of indicators point to more slack in the labor market than indicated by the unemployment rate alone, said Charles Evans, the president of the Chicago Fed, on Wednesday. "It is hard to imagine a robust labor market without solid growth in wages," Evans said in a speech at Lakeland College in Plymouth, Wis. Evans said 3% to 4% growth would be more normal than the 2% rate experienced over the past six years. Evans, one of the firmest doves on the Fed policy committee, again said he thinks the Fed should be "exceptionally patient" before it raises short-term interest rates for the first time. The Chicago Fed president will be a voting member of the Fed policy committee in 2015.