Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell needs to be cautious in his steps to tighten monetary policy, said Chairman of the United States Senate Banking Committee, Sherrod Brown.
This is to protect millions of Americans who are already affected by high inflation, from losing their jobs.
In a letter addressed to the Fed's Board of Governors and made public by Brown's office, he acknowledged Powell needs to address inflation but at the same time not forget the responsibility to ensure jobs remain strong.
He added that the US needs to avoid short-term progress and the labor market is depressed due to aggressive tightening by the central bank.
The Fed is widely expected to implement another 75 basis point hike at next week's policy meeting.
However, the letter does not explicitly indicate that Brown is asking Powell to slow or stop interest rate hikes.
Powell previously acknowledged the risk and the possibility that a sharp rise in borrowing costs would lead to an increase in unemployment, which is now at a record low of 3.5%.
Still, he stressed that fighting inflation is the Fed's top priority for now, and that's the only way to ensure long-term labor market strength.
