The country’s biggest monetary policy event of the year is happening in Grand Teton National Park.

Since the 1980s, central bankers have gathered at Jackson Lake Lodge every summer in suits and cowboy hats to talk about the economy.

This year, Barrons journalist Nicholas Jasinski said they’re focused on how the country survived the pandemic and high inflation rates without entering a recession.

Why does this matter for Wyomingites?

“In a lot of ways, it doesn’t,” Jasinski said. “But at the end of the day, what the real economy does matters for people – if they have jobs, if they’re able to afford their groceries – and the Fed has so much influence on what the economy does.”

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell typically uses the Jackson event to provide clues on the future of monetary policy. On Friday morning, he announced “the time has come” to start cutting interest rates.

“The direction of travel is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook and the balance of risks,” Powell added.

This announcement wasn’t much of a surprise to market watchers.

“We’re at a very interesting macro moment in the economy,” Jasinski said. “We’re not in a recession, people are not losing their jobs, but the unemployment rate is going up and hiring is slowing.”

In Wyoming, unemployment rates are still pretty low at around 3% — a full percentage point below the national average  of 4.3%, which has been slowly rising in recent months.

The Fed will likely start cutting rates at their mid-September meeting to keep unemployment rates low.

This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio (KNPR) in Las Vegas, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.