Federal Reserve officials typically gather many of their insights and observations about the economy from some of the top Ph.D. economists in Washington. On a visit Monday to York, Pennsylvania, Chair Jerome Powell got an earful from a group with a different perspective: Small-business people who are grappling personally with inflation, high interest rates, labor shortages and other challenges of the post-pandemic economy. Powell traveled to York to learn about the efforts of the long-time manufacturing hub to diversify its economy. The businesspeople they spoke with were generally optimistic but expressed a range of concerns: They are still having trouble finding all the workers they need. Higher interest rates have discouraged some of them from expanding.
