Federal Reserve Bank President and CEO Barkin will be in West Virginia this week – WV MetroNews

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President and CEO Tom Barkin plans to be on the ground in West Virginia later this week.

Barkin will make stops in Boone and Logan counties to talk to local residents about the effects they are seeing from inflation and overall how they are doing in the current state of the economy.

“I’ll be talking to local businesses and understand how they’re experiencing the economy, and try to understand economic revitalization efforts and what’s successful and what the challenges are,” Barkin said last week as a guest on MetroNews “Talkline.”

The state of West Virginia is within the district of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond that Barkin represents.

Of the many challenges Barkin hears about on daily basis, housing is big one.

“There are always issues in the small towns we’re in and housing is what I’m hearing a lot about these days,” said Barkin. “We want to figure out how people are managing to cope with those issues.”

There’s inflation too.

“I’m always trying to understand how people are experiencing that day-to-day,” he said.

Barkin said inflation is too high when looking at the 12-month numbers but has been encouraged by the numbers he’s seen in the past few months. He’s hopeful inflation will be more under control in the coming months.

“I don’t think our job is done yet but it’s definitely heading in the right direction,” Barkin said regarding inflation.

In order to understand inflation’s true effects, Barkin wants to be out on the road, making these trips to small towns and communities that are having a toll on families and small businesses.

“If there’s one thing we’ve re-learned over the last couple of years it’s that we just hate inflation,” Barkin said. “Frankly, it’s just exhausting.”

Barkin has been in West Virginia many times before. Earlier this year he was in Cabell County for a “Community and Economic Outreach Visit.” He’s held similar visits and meetings in about a dozen West Virginia counties in the past few years.

“I do think it’s important as we try and do best to steer the economy to understand how people on the ground are experiencing it,” Barkin said.