Yellen: US jobs recovery is far from complete

The recovery of the US labor market is far from complete, with a large number of long-term unemployed and part-time workers, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said during an all-day hearing before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday. While the unemployment rate has declined from 8.1 percent to 6.6 percent since late 2012, Yellen noted that an "unusually large fraction" of workers have been out of work for six months or longer, and too many people are forced to work part time when they want full-time jobs.Yellen said the central bank is likely to keep rates near zero well past the time that the unemployment rate reaches 6.5 percent -- suggesting that the Fed is moving away from tying rates to a single number in favor of a broader array of labor-market indicators. She said she expects to continue the strategy of former Fed chairman Ben Bernanke for winding down the Fed's massive bond-buying program, which was first launched during the so-called Great Recession to jump-start the economy.