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[00:00.76]The head of the United States central bank 
[00:03.29]says she expects the U.S. job market to continue to improve.
[00:09.36]Janet Yellen says the inflation rate 
[00:12.64]should rise close to a yearly rate of 2 percent.  
[00:17.32]That inflation rate would keep prices stable 
[00:21.28]and support the economy, 
[00:23.08]says the central bank, or Federal Reserve System.
[00:28.00]Too much inflation and prices rise too high, too fast. 
[00:33.24]Not enough inflation and prices and growth 
[00:36.80]remain flat or decline. 
[00:39.88]Currently, inflation is well below one percent.
[00:45.00]Many economists interpret Yellen's comments 
[00:48.84]as a signal that the Federal Reserve 
[00:51.56]might raise the key interest rate on December 16. 
[00:56.52]The Federal Reserve has considered 
[00:59.21]increasing important interest rates for a long time. 
[01:03.52]But it has been cautious about making rate changes, 
[01:07.52]fearing that the economy would react badly.
[01:12.48]In a speech to the Economic Club of Washington on Wednesday, 
[01:17.08]Federal Reserve Chairperson Yellen said 
[01:20.12]she expects the effects of a strong U.S. dollar 
[01:24.24]and faltering foreign markets to decrease over time. 
[01:29.60]She cautioned that bad economic reports 
[01:33.36]could still delay any rate increase.
[01:37.76]The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday 
[01:41.30]that the economy gained 211,000 jobs in November. 
[01:46.88]Unemployment remained at five percent, 
[01:49.84]its lowest level in seven years.
[01:53.84]The Federal Reserve cut an important interest rate 
[01:57.20]to almost zero during the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008. 
[02:04.16]The idea was to make it less costly 
[02:07.08]for businesses to borrow the money needed for new equipment. 
[02:11.96]Less costly loans help to create jobs, and cut unemployment.
[02:18.52]Since those economic stimulus efforts, 
[02:21.92]unemployment has fallen from 10 percent to 5 percent. 
[02:26.76]A new report from Georgetown University says 
[02:30.44]under-employment, lacking a job that pays enough, 
[02:34.56]has also been cut sharply, especially for people with college degrees.
[02:41.64]Some economic studies published Wednesday 
[02:44.96]may increase the likelihood of a rate increase. 
[02:49.36]ADP is a company that processes 24 million paychecks 
[02:54.64]for companies across the United States. 
[02:58.36]It says employment rose by 217,000 in November.
[03:05.08]A separate opinion survey of U.S. workers by the company Gallup 
[03:10.68]shows many more companies say they are hiring 
[03:14.16]than are worrying about layoffs.
[03:17.32]CoreLogic is a company that tracks the housing industry. 
[03:21.88]It says its newest studies show a decrease in home 
[03:26.36]sales related to foreclosure or other kinds of distress.
[03:31.36]Foreclosures take place when banks reclaim homes 
[03:35.52]because their owners cannot pay their loans. 
[03:39.68]Foreclosures and other problems increased sharply 
[03:43.55]during the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008. 
[03:49.20]A decline in "distressed" home sales 
[03:52.28]shows an improving housing industry.
[03:55.92]I'm Mario Ritter.