Fed’s Mester: Would like to begin tapering asset purchases this year
She would still like to begin tapering asset purchases some time this year despite weak August jobs report
Would be comfortable with winding down asset purchases over the first half of 2022
Delta variant is a risk to the outlook but not necessarily going to weigh heavily on economic activity
Expects employment to continue to rise over the rest of this year
Looks at labor force participation, employment population ratio, unemployment rate and racial and gender gaps when evaluating labor market
Some more people will join the labor market has issues with childcare are resolved and some people train for new jobs
She wouldn’t have a problem with Fed reviewing rules on how officials should handle investments