美联储主席杰罗姆·鲍威尔（Jerome Powell）警告美国人，冠状病毒爆发引发的经济下滑可能会持续到2021年年底，因为只有在人们对自己的安全感充满信心之前，复苏才会发生。
鲍威尔在周日的CBS 60分钟会议上接受采访时表示，他相信国内经济从大流行中复苏可能要到2021年下半年才能实现。“人们将重返工作岗位，失业将回落，”他说。“我们会解决这个问题。可能需要一段时间。可能需要一段时间。它可能会持续到明年年底。我们真的不知道。”
鲍威尔继续说：“这是一个巨大的痛苦和困难的时期，它是如此之快，如此强大，我们真的无法用言语表达人们所感受到的痛苦和他们正在意识到的不确定性。我们需要一段时间才能回来。”
在美联储网站的屏幕截图中，美联储主席杰罗姆·鲍威尔（Jerome Powell）于2020年4月29日在华盛顿特区发表了联邦公开市场委员会的声明。
他还说，全面复苏将与消费者对周围环境的信心密切相关，而这种信心只有在接种疫苗后才能恢复正常：“涉及人们的经济部分非常紧密地位于同一个地方，经济将面临挑战，直到人们再次真正感到安全为止。”
鲍威尔补充说：“尽管如此，直到人们对自己的安全感到自信后，我们才能完全康复。”
自3月中旬以来，由于各州维持原状并担心感染这种病毒，导致超过3600万美国人申请失业救济，导致企业无法留住员工。
鲍威尔指出，失业率可能达到25％的峰值，低收入人群和女性人口受经济下滑的影响更大。但鲍威尔补充说，他相信该国将避免陷入萧条。
他说：“我认为[第二次大萧条]根本不可能出现。” “存在一些非常根本的差异。首先是造成这种情况的原因-我们两个月前的经济非常健康。这实际上是一场外部事件，实际上是一场自然灾害。那是一个很大的差异。”
上周五，众议院民主党议员通过了额外的3万亿美元刺激计划，以缓解大流行的影响。该法案可能不会通过共和党领导的参议院，因为参议院多数党领袖麦康纳尔（Mitch McConnell）表示，他认为现在没有“紧迫性”采取行动。然而，美联储已向金融体系注入数万亿美元，以进一步应对经济下滑。
《新闻周刊》向美联储寻求进一步评论。这个故事将随着任何回应而更新。
FED CHAIR JEROME POWELL WARNS U.S. ECONOMY CAN'T RECOVER 'UNTIL PEOPLE FEEL CONFIDENT THAT THEY'RE SAFE'
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned Americans that the economic downturn triggered by the coronavirus outbreak could last until the end of 2021 because recovery won't happen until people feel confident about their safety.
In a CBS 60 Minutes interview Sunday, Powell expressed his belief that domestic economy recovery from the pandemic might not happen until late 2021. "People will go back to work. Unemployment will get back down," he said. "We'll get through this. It may take a while. It may take a period of time. It could stretch through the end of next year. We really don't know."
"This is a time of great suffering and difficulty," Powell continued, "and it's come on us so quickly and with such force, that you really can't put into words the pain people are feeling and the uncertainty they're realizing. And it's going to take a while for us to get back."
In this screengrab taken from the Federal Reserve website, Chair of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell issues the Federal Open Market Committee statement on April 29, 2020 in Washington, DC.
He also said a full recovery will be closely tied with consumer confidence in being around others, which may only return to normal after a vaccine: "The parts of the economy that involve people being in the same place very close together, those parts of the economy will be challenged until people feel really safe again."
"We can't fully recover though until people feel confident that they're safe," Powell added.
Since mid-March, over 36 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits after states' stay-in-place orders and fears of catching the virus left businesses unable to retain staff.
Powell noted that unemployment could peak at 25 percent, with the low-earning and female population being more impacted by the downturn. But Powell added that he believes the country will avoid a depression.
"I don't think [a second Great Depression is] a likely outcome at all," he said. "There are some very fundamental differences. The first is the cause here—we had a very healthy economy two months ago. And this is an outside event, it is a natural disaster, in effect. And that's one big difference."
Democratic lawmakers in the House on Friday passed an additional $3 trillion stimulus relief package to buffer the impacts of the pandemic. The bill may not pass the Republican-led Senate, as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated that he believes there's "no urgency" to act now. However, the Federal Reserve has injected trillions into the financial system to further combat the economic downturn.
Newsweek reached out to the Federal Reserve for further comment. This story will be updated with any response.
