Speaking at an online conference held by the European Central Bank, Powell, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey and European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde all emphasized the long-term threat to the economy from the pandemic while welcoming the preliminary results showing a vaccine by BioNTech and Pfizer was highly effective.
"We have said from the beginning that the economy will not fully recover until people are confident it is safe to resume activities involving crowds of people."
The failure of lawmakers to agree on any new aid has clouded the future for the unemployed, for small businesses and for the economy as a whole.
“We’re recovering to a different economy,” he said, and there will be a substantial number of workers who will need support as the economy is changed by the pandemic.
All three central banks have deployed large-scale stimulus such as interest rate cuts and bond purchases that aim to keep borrowing costs affordable for businesses.