Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Milan described Wednesday's report showing an increase in U.S. corporate employment in October as a "welcome surprise," but reiterated that current interest rates should be lowered.
According to data released by Automatic Data Processing Inc (ADP) on Wednesday, the U.S. private sector added 42,000 jobs in October, following a revised decline of 29,000 in the previous month. The median estimate from economists was for an increase of 30,000.
With the U.S. government experiencing its longest-ever shutdown, delaying the release of official economic data, the importance of the ADP report has grown further.
Milan stated in an interview on Wednesday, "Overall, you can still see modest potential for employment growth, with wage increases gradually slowing. From a cyclical perspective, labor demand remains below ideal levels. To me, these factors suggest that interest rates could be lower than they are now."
Milan has repeatedly called for monetary policy easing. He dissented in both the September and October rate decisions, advocating for a 50-basis-point cut instead of the 25-basis-point reduction ultimately decided by the Federal Open Market Committee.
"Current policy is too restrictive," Milan said. "Maintaining such tight policy also carries unnecessary risks."