Fed’s Evans says fighting inflation is the top priority even if that means job losses

The central bank is committed to bringing down inflation even if it means people losing their jobs, according to the president of the Chicago Fed.

Three weeks before the Fed is expected to approve its fourth consecutive 0.75 percentage point interest rate increase, a central bank official told CNBC he wants to minimize economic damage.

Inflation is the most important thing to keep under control. Evans said during a live interview that it was job one. Stronger growth in the future is set up by price stability.

The producer and consumer price index will be looked at later this week. Both have been showing cost-of-living increases that are close to 40-year highs.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that nonfarm payrolls increased by 263,000 in September, while the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, the lowest level in over forty years. The Fed expects some pain from the inflation-fighting efforts that could include higher levels of joblessness.

Unemployment going up is unfortunate. It is difficult if it goes up a lot. Stable prices make the future better.

The founder of ARK Investment Management criticized the Fed on Monday. The manager of an exchange traded fund wrote an open letter to policymakers, saying she was worried that interest rate hikes could cause the economy to go into a deflationary bust.

Evans believes there are signs that inflation is easing. He wanted the Fed to get rates to a restrictive level so it could watch the impact.

Evans, a non-voter on the Federal Open Market Committee, will be leaving his position early in the future.