In this Dec. 1, 2020 file photo, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell appears before the Senate Banking Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. Powell says the economic outlook has “clearly brightened” in the United States but the recovery remains too uneven with lower income groups lagging behind. In a speech Monday, May 3, 2021 Powell cited a number of reasons that U.S. growth prospects have brightened.

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says the economic outlook has “clearly brightened” in the United States but the recovery remains too uneven with lower income groups lagging behind. In a speech Monday, Powell cited a number of reasons that U.S. growth prospects have brightened.

“We are not out of the woods yet, but I am glad to say that we are now making real progress,” Powell said in remarks to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, citing rising vaccination levels, increased government support and more business reopenings across the country.

But he said, “The economic downturn has not fallen evenly on all Americans and those least able to bear the burden have been the hardest hit.”

Powell said new statistics showed that 20% of workers in the lowest one-fifth of workers by income did not have jobs in February, one year after the pandemic hit. He said that compared to 6% of workers in the highest one-fifth of incomes who were still without work.

For minority-owned small businesses, Powell said 67% of Asian- and Black-owned firms and 63% of Hispanic-owned firms had to reduce their operations because of the pandemic compared to a smaller but still significant 54% of white-owned businesses.