Good afternoon and welcome once again to the New York Fed’s Quarterly Regional Economic Press Briefing. I am pleased to have this opportunity to talk with the journalists covering our region—and through you, to the people in our District. This morning I will focus on regional economic conditions, with particular attention to job polarization, which I would define as the expansion of the number of jobs at the upper and lower ends of the wage and skill distribution and a shrinking of job opportunities for those in the middle. We will see how these trends are playing out in our region. As always, what I have to say ... (full story)