Robert Kaplan, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said May 17 that the U.S. is likely at the lowest sustainable level of unemployment, or that it may have already passed that mark, according to Reuters.
His comments add to the debate among Fed officials, who have weighed whether the labor market could improve further without leading to an unhealthy rise in inflation.
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, for example, said earlier in the day that there may be more slack in the U.S. labor market than the 3.9% unemployment rate suggests. Other Fed officials, such as Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, think the U.S. is already past the full employment mark.
Kaplan is not a voter this year on the Federal Open Market Committee, which is expected to raise its benchmark interest rates at least two more times in 2018.
