By Paul Kiernan 

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the U.S. economy appears to be at an inflection point, with output and job growth poised to accelerate in the months ahead as long as the Covid-19 pandemic retreats.

"We feel like we're at a place where the economy's about to start growing much more quickly and job creation coming much more quickly," Mr. Powell said in an excerpt of an interview set to air in full Sunday evening on CBS's "60 Minutes."

Saying a resurgence of Covid-19 remains the primary risk to the economic outlook, the central-bank chief urged Americans to continue socially distancing and wearing masks.

President Biden and administration officials have also urged Americans to be patient and take precautions as the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines continues and new variants spread.

Fed officials and private forecasters say the U.S. economy is positioned for its fastest year of growth since the early 1980s. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal in recent days said they expect economic output to expand 6.4% in 2021 and private-sector payrolls to rise by 7.06 million.

Write to Paul Kiernan at paul.kiernan@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 11, 2021 14:23 ET (18:23 GMT)