Jackson Hole 2025: What happened day-by-day & Markets Reaction

A concise, day-by-day recap of the 2025 Jackson Hole Economic Symposium—covering the Fed’s framework update, key research sessions, and policy panel takeaways—followed by quick-hit highlights of how equities, rates, and the dollar reacted.

author: Economician

Reading Time:

2 minutes

category:economy

Day 1 — Thu, Aug 21

Opening reception & dinner hosted by KC Fed President Jeffrey Schmid. No policy news released.

Day 2 — Fri, Aug 22

Powell keynote — “Monetary Policy and the Fed’s Framework Review.”

Powell said the “shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting” policy, nodding to a potential rate cut as soon as September, even as inflation risks persist. (Full text posted by the Fed.)

FOMC framework update.

The Fed approved revisions to its Statement on Longer-Run Goals & Monetary Policy Strategy, stepping away from the 2020 “makeup” (FAIT) language and reaffirming a flexible inflation-targeting approach. (Press release + revised statement published.)

Research sessions (Day 2) — posted by KC Fed:

Demographic Trends in Global Labor Markets — Claudia Goldin
Macroeconomic Consequences of Declining Labor Mobility — Linda Tesar
Panel: Technology & the Labor Market — Lawrence Katz, Ufuk Akcigit, Laura Veldkamp (handouts)
Luncheon address: Ruth Porat (remarks)

Day 3 — Sat, Aug 23

Research sessions (Day 3):

Balancing Labor Markets and Inflation — Emi Nakamura
Labor Markets and Fiscal Sustainability — Ludwig Straub

Global policy panel (Bailey–Lagarde–Ueda):

Lagarde (ECB) highlighted the role of foreign workers in cushioning the euro-area economy amid labor-supply shifts.
Ueda (BoJ) said Japan’s tight labor market should keep upward pressure on wages. (Full BoJ text posted.)

Markets' Reaction — Quick Hits

Equities: Dow +846 pts (~+1.8%), S&P 500 +1.5% on Friday after Powell; fresh records for some indices into the weekend.
Rates: 2-yr Treasury ~3.68–3.69%, 10-yr ~4.26% — notable post-speech drop as cut odds rose to the ~80–87% zone for September.
Dollar: Weaker post-Powell; still off recent highs as markets bet on a policy pivot.
Strategist & bank calls: Major houses (Barclays, BNP, Deutsche) pivoted to a September cut view; markets price ~0.5% of easing by year-end.

Appendix — Session papers & materials (links)

All official materials are indexed on the KC Fed symposium page (papers/handouts/remarks):

Powell — Monetary Policy and the Fed’s Framework Review (speech page). Federal Reserve
FOMC — Updated Statement on Longer-Run Goals & Monetary Policy Strategy (+ press release). Federal Reserve+1
Claudia Goldin — Demographic Trends in Global Labor Markets (paper + handout). Kansas City Fed
Linda Tesar — Macroeconomic Consequences of Declining Labor Mobility (paper + handout). Kansas City Fed
Panel — Technology & the Labor Market (Katz, Akcigit, Veldkamp handouts). Kansas City Fed
Ruth Porat — Luncheon remarks (external). Kansas City Fed
Emi Nakamura — Balancing Labor Markets and Inflation (paper + handout). Kansas City Fed
Ludwig Straub — Labor Markets and Fiscal Sustainability (paper + handout; Karen Dynan handout). Kansas City Fed
Policy panel — Bailey (slides), Lagarde (handout + remarks), Ueda (handout + BoJ text). Kansas City Fed+1 Bank of Japan