Fed officials reassess after 'surprising' jobs report

Federal Reserve policymakers have begun to take stock of an unexpectedly strong January jobs report, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell to face questions later on Tuesday on whether it has shaken his confidence that high inflation will come down without harsher steps by the U.S. central bank to slow the economy, reports Reuters.
"I think it surprised all of us," Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said in an interview with broadcaster CNBC on Tuesday, referring to the blowout jobs report last Friday in which more than half a million employment gains were reported for January by the U.S. government.
The numbers were far out of line with the looser labor market the Fed has expected and feels will be needed to ensure that wage growth also slows and inflation continues to fall.