2026年3月30日 / 美国东部时间下午3:01 / 哥伦比亚广播公司（CBS News）
美联储主席杰罗姆·鲍威尔向正在艰难就业市场中求职的美国年轻人传递了一条信息：不要气馁，尽管就业增长依然疲软，人工智能的威胁也正在逼近。
这位美联储主席周一在哈佛大学的一门本科经济学课堂上发表了上述言论，在长达一小时的讲话中涵盖了诸多议题，包括金融体系抵御未来危机的能力。他还谈及了伊朗战争背景下的通胀问题，表示长期通胀预期仍处于可控范围。
鲍威尔将于今年5月卸任美联储主席一职，其职位将由凯文·沃什接任。沃什曾是美联储官员，于今年1月被特朗普总统提名该职位。与此同时，美联储正纠结于一系列经济数据：通胀率仍高于央行设定的2%年度目标，飙升的油价推高了加油站的成本，并可能在整个经济中蔓延。
“绝佳机遇”
或许他最能引发共鸣的讲话是针对现场的年轻人的——他们很快就将在增长放缓的市场中开启求职之旅。受劳动力市场停滞影响，美国年轻人尤其难以找到工作。
“不可否认，如今进入劳动力市场是一段充满挑战的时期，但这可能需要一些耐心等等，不过从长远来看，美国经济将为你们带来绝佳的机遇，”鲍威尔周一说道。
美联储主席杰罗姆·鲍威尔2026年3月30日在马萨诸塞州剑桥市哈佛大学的《经济学原理》课堂上分享了他对就业市场的看法。索菲·帕克 / 盖蒂图片社
美国劳工部的数据显示，20至24岁群体的失业率为7.4%，去年秋季该数据曾突破9%。这一数字高于整体失业率——2月份整体失业率小幅上升至4.4%。就业增长也一直疲软，去年雇主仅新增了18.1万个工作岗位。
鲍威尔承认了这些挑战，但语气乐观，告诉在场的学生，他们正身处一个历史上极具活力的经济体，从长期来看，该经济体将为他们创造诸多机遇。
“与全球其他主要大型市场经济体相比，美国经济的活力和生产力都令人难以置信，”他说道。
通胀预期
鲍威尔还谈及了伊朗战争背景下的通胀问题，表示长期通胀预期仍处于可控范围。
“人们往往会忽略任何形式的供应冲击，”他补充道，“但其中一个关键且至关重要的方面是，你必须仔细监控通胀预期，因为你可能会遭遇一系列此类供应冲击。”
鲍威尔补充道，美联储政策制定者能做的并不多，因为能源冲击“往往来去迅速”，而货币政策的效果需要较长时间才能显现。不过，一系列能源冲击仍可能令人担忧。
“你必须仔细监控通胀预期，因为你可能会遭遇一系列重大供应冲击，而这可能会——你知道的，公众、企业、定价者、家庭……开始预期未来通胀会走高。为什么不呢？”鲍威尔说道。
一些经济学家警告称，飙升的油价可能会推高运输、化肥以及其他依赖化石燃料的商品和服务的价格，从而重新推高通胀。
据Oilprice.com和FactSet的数据，作为国际基准的布伦特原油周一曾升至每桶115美元，随后回落至107.95美元。作为美国基准的西德克萨斯中质原油上涨2%，至101.70美元。在伊朗战争爆发前，这两种原油的价格均约为每桶70美元。
人工智能的影响
鲍威尔还对有望重塑劳动力市场的人工智能持乐观态度。去年，人工智能公司Anthropic的首席执行官达里奥·阿莫代伊曾表示，他认为这项技术可能会淘汰一半的入门级白领工作岗位。
鲍威尔承认，企业为了削减成本，正在寻求实现工作自动化的方法。但他同时表示，他认为大型语言模型将提高工人的工作效率，并以过去的技术为例，比如织布机如何彻底改变制造业并最终提高了工人的生产力。
“在所有情况下，只要社会持续培养出能够从这项技术中获益的、具备相应技能和天赋的人才，最终都会提高生产生活水平，”鲍威尔说道。
他补充道，如果年轻人能够接受这项技术，他们将从中获益。
“我认为你们现在需要投入时间，真正掌握这些新技术的使用方法，这将对你们大有裨益，”他说道。
艾米·皮奇 编辑
美联社为本报道提供了素材。
Amid tough job market for young Americans, Fed Chair Powell tells students not to despair
March 30, 2026 / 3:01 PM EDT / CBS News
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has a message for young Americans looking for work in a tough job market: Don’t be deterred, even as job creation remains weak and the threat of artificial intelligence looms.
The Fed chair, who made the comments on Monday to an undergraduate economics class at Harvard University, covered a lot of ground during his hour-long appearance, including the financial system’s capacity to weather future crises. He also touched on inflation amid the war in Iran, saying that longer-term expectations remain in check.
Powell is set to step down from his role as chair in May, when he will be replaced by Kevin Warsh, a former Fed official whom President Trump nominated to the post in January. In the meantime, the Fed is wrangling with economic data showing that the inflation rate remains above the central bank’s 2% annual goal, while surging oil prices are pushing up costs at the gas pump and may ripple through the economy.
“Great opportunities”
Perhaps his most resonant message was for the young people in the room, who could soon find themselves on the hunt for a job in a market marred by slow growth. With a stalled labor market, young Americans in particular are struggling to find work.
“There’s no denying it’s a challenging time to enter the labor market, but it may take some patience and all that, but in the longer term, this economy is going to give you great opportunities,” Powell said Monday.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell shared his outlook on the job market while speaking to a Principles of Economics class at Harvard University on March 30, 2026, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Sophie Park / Getty Images
The unemployment rate for 20 to 24-year-olds stands at 7.4%, after topping 9% last fall, Labor Department data shows. That’s higher than the overall unemployment rate, which ticked up to 4.4% in February. Hiring has also been lackluster, with employers adding just 181,000 jobs last year.
Powell acknowledged these challenges but struck a sanguine tone, telling the students in the room that they are part of a historically robust economy that will generate opportunities for them over the long-term.
“The U.S. economy, compared to other major big, market-based economies around the world, is just incredibly dynamic and productive,” he said.
Inflation expectations
Powell also touched on inflation amid the war in Iran, saying that longer-term expectations remain in check.
“The tendency is to look through any kind of a supply shock,” he said, adding, “But a critical, essential aspect of that is you have to carefully monitor inflation expectations, because you can have a series of these supply shocks.”
Powell added that there wasn’t a lot Fed policymakers could do since energy shocks “tend to come and go pretty quickly” and monetary maneuvers work over the longer-term. But a series of energy shocks, nevertheless, could be concerning.
“You have to carefully monitor inflation expectations because you could have a series of big supply shocks and that can lead, you know, the public generally, businesses, price setters, households … to start expecting higher inflation over time. Why wouldn’t it?” Powell said.
Some economists have flagged that soaring oil prices could reignite inflation by causing higher prices for transportation, fertilizer and other goods and services that depend on fossil fuels.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose to $115 a barrel on Monday before retreating to $107.95, according to data from Oilprice.com and FactSet. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, rose 2% to $101.70. Before the Iran war, both were trading at about $70 a barrel.
Impact of artificial intelligence
Powell also had a positive outlook on artificial intelligence, which is poised to reshape the workforce. Last year, Dario Amodei, CEO of AI company Anthropic, said he thinks the technology could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs.
Powell recognized that companies are looking for ways to automate jobs as they seek to cut costs. But he said he also believes large language models will make workers more efficient, pointing to past examples of how other technologies, like the loom, revolutionized manufacturing and ultimately boosted worker productivity.
“In all cases, it is wound up raising productive living standards as long as the society keeps producing people who have the skills and aptitudes to benefit from that technology,” Powell said.
Young workers are poised to benefit if they embrace the technology, he added.
“I think you’re in a situation where you need to invest the time to really master the use of these new technologies, and that should stand you in good stead,” he said.
Edited by Aimee Picchi
The Associated Press contributed to this report.