WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve took no new steps to support the economy Wednesday, but it said in a statement that it was ready to act if job growth did not improve. 
 
 The statement, released after a meeting of the Fed’s policy-making committee, said that the rate of economic growth had slowed in recent months and was likely to remain “moderate over coming quarters.” As a result, the Fed said it expected the unemployment rate to decline “only slowly.” 
 
 But the central bank deferred any effort to improve the situation at least until the committee’s next scheduled meeting in mid-September. 
 
 “The committee will closely monitor incoming information on economic and financial developments and will provide additional accommodation as needed to promote a stronger economic recovery and sustained improvement in labor market conditions in a context of price stability,” it said. 
 
 That was stronger language than it used after its previous meeting in June, when it said that it was “prepared” to act. 
 
 And the Fed’s chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, has said that the Fed is “committed to ensuring, or at least doing all we can to ensure” that unemployment continues to decline, suggesting officials may simply be waiting to see the government’s estimates of job growth in July and August, which will be released before the committee reconvenes Sept. 12 and 13. 
 
 The absence of action appeared to disappoint some equity investors. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fell 4 points, or 0.29 percent, Wednesday, to 1,375.32. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped sharply after the Fed’s announcement, and then traded erratically before closing near its session low. It fell 37.62 points, also 0.29 percent, to 12,971.06. 
 
 But much of the market’s attention already has turned to the September meeting, when the Fed also will update its economic projections. 
 
 “This statement will at least raise some new doubts about whether the Fed will be easing again this year,” Jim O’Sullivan, chief United States economist at High Frequency Economics, wrote in a note to clients Wednesday. “We still expect they will, assuming that growth remains fairly sluggish, but for now at least the statement keeps the debate open.” 
 
 Mr. Bernanke will have an opportunity to clarify his views when he speaks at an annual monetary policy conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., at the end of August. 
 
 Some Fed officials suggested recently that the weak rate of growth required new action. They said that the unemployment rate had stagnated above 8 percent since January, and that the most recent economic forecasts by Fed officials, published in June, projected the rate would decline slightly, if at all, during the second half of the year. 
 
 But there were no votes for action at the meeting that ended Wednesday. Among the 12 officials who vote on monetary policy, the only dissent from the decision to stand pat came from an official who has consistently pressed for the Fed to do less, Jeffrey M. Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. 
 
 The Fed already is engaged in a wide-ranging effort to spur growth by cutting interest rates, punishing savers and rewarding borrowers. The central bank has held its benchmark rate near zero since late 2008, and said that it planned to maintain that policy at least until late 2014. It has put further pressure on long-term rates by amassing a portfolio of almost $3 trillion in long-term Treasury securities and mortgage-backed securities. And it said in June that it would keep buying bonds through the end of the year. 
 
 But those efforts have proved insufficient to set off a strong recovery. The economy has slogged along somewhere between crisis and prosperity for more than three years now. Unemployment remains pervasive; more than 23 million Americans cannot find full-time jobs. And the Fed, while insisting that it could do more, has so far declined to prove it. 
 
 Some Fed officials remain uncertain that the economy needs help. Economic indicators are imprecise, particularly in times of turbulence. Some officials also doubt the Fed can help. Cheap loans are at best an indirect means of addressing problems like the decline in government spending, tight credit standards and high levels of household debt. 
 
 Vincent Reinhart, chief United States economist at Morgan Stanley, said that the Fed appeared “resigned to subpar economic performance” because it lacked confidence in the available tools. “If it were more confident, it would have done more,” said Mr. Reinhart, who worked as the Fed’s chief monetary policy staff member under Mr. Bernanke. ||||| Photo Advertisement Continue reading the main story 
 
 JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — The Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, delivered a detailed and forceful argument on Friday for new steps to stimulate the economy, reinforcing earlier indications that the Fed is on the verge of action. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Calling the persistently high rate of unemployment a “grave concern,” language that several experts described as unusually strong, Mr. Bernanke made clear that a recent run of tepid rather than terrible economic data had not altered the Fed’s will to act, because the pace of growth remained too slow to reduce the number of people who lack jobs. 
 
 The federal government said on Wednesday that the economy expanded at an annual rate of 1.7 percent in the second quarter, slightly higher than its initial estimate of 1.5 percent but lackluster in normal times. A measure of consumer confidence hit a three-month high on Friday, but that, too, was impressive only in comparison with the immediate past. The government will release a preliminary estimate of August job growth next week; it is expected to show that the unemployment rate remains above 8 percent. 
 
 Mr. Bernanke said that the Fed’s efforts over the last several years had helped to hasten economic recovery, that there was a clear need for additional action and that the likely benefits of new steps to stimulate growth outweighed the potential costs. 
 
 “It is important to achieve further progress, particularly in the labor market,” Mr. Bernanke said. “Taking due account of the uncertainties and limits of its policy tools, the Federal Reserve will provide additional policy accommodation as needed to promote a stronger economic recovery and sustained improvement in labor market conditions in a context of price stability.” 
 
 In setting the stage for action when the Fed’s policy-making committee meets in two weeks, Mr. Bernanke appeared to defy political pressure from Republicans to refrain from new measures. Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee, has said such action would be counterproductive, and has pledged to replace Mr. Bernanke at the earliest opportunity. 
 
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 “Policies from Congress, not more short-term stimulus from the Fed, are the ingredients necessary for restoring growth in the American economy,” Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee, said in a statement after Mr. Bernanke’s speech. 
 
 On the other hand, Democrats welcomed Mr. Bernanke’s remarks. There is little prospect that Fed action will lift the economy before the election, but party officials fear the opposite possibility — that inaction could undermine economic confidence — and so they greeted the speech with relief. 
 
 Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, said Mr. Bernanke “should not let any political backlash deter him from following through and doing the right thing.” 
 
 Mr. Bernanke did not announce any new steps in his speech, delivered here before an annual monetary policy conference organized by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Nor did he indicate which steps were most likely, a reticence that reflects his desire not to give details ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee, which convenes in two weeks. 
 
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 Some analysts expect the Fed to announce a new round of asset purchases after that meeting, further expanding its holdings of Treasury securities and mortgage-backed securities to reduce borrowing costs and spur investment. Others expect that it will instead announce its intent to keep its benchmark interest rate near zero beyond its current forecast of late 2014. 
 
 Jan Hatzius, chief United States economist at Goldman Sachs, said he was now convinced that the Fed would extend its forecast, because Mr. Bernanke described benefits but not costs of that approach. He said he also expected the Fed to announce new asset purchases, but not necessarily in September. The speech, he said, made the Fed’s intentions clear, “but it still doesn’t really tell you the timing.” 
 
 Stocks fell slightly after the release of Mr. Bernanke’s remarks, then climbed again. Commodities like gold and oil also increased. 
 
 Mr. Bernanke devoted much of his speech to asset purchases. He said past rounds of purchases had produced “economically meaningful” benefits, contributing to lower borrowing costs for corporations and a general rise in stock prices. He cited one study that found that the combined effect of the Fed’s three rounds of asset purchases raised output by 3 percent and increased employment by two million jobs. 
 
 He provided a shorter description of the benefits of policy forecasts. 
 
 In both cases, after reviewing the costs of existing actions and the potential consequences of doing more, Mr. Bernanke rendered a clear verdict on the balance. 
 
 “The costs of nontraditional policies, when considered carefully, appear manageable, implying that we should not rule out further use of such policies if economic conditions warrant,” he told the audience of central bankers, fiscal policy makers and academic economists gathered at the Jackson Lake Lodge in the middle of Grand Teton National Park for the annual policy conference. 
 
 The Fed has sent signals in recent months that it is preparing to take new action to stimulate the economy. Its policy-making committee said after its most recent meeting in early August that it would “provide additional accommodation as needed.” 
 
 Since that meeting, the depressed housing market has shown signs of modest revival. But worries about fiscal policy have intensified, and Europe remains on a low boil. Mr. Bernanke’s verdict on Friday was unambiguous: “The economic situation obviously is far from satisfactory,” he said. And his description of the high unemployment rate as a “grave concern” drew particular notice from his well-versed audience. 
 
 “It goes well beyond normal central bank expressions of the need to bring unemployment down,” said Alan S. Blinder, an economics professor at Princeton University and a former Fed vice chairman. “It is an interesting question for someone to research if any central banker has ever made a statement that strong” about unemployment. 
 
 In addition to asset purchases and forward guidance, the account of the most recent meeting mentioned two other options. The Fed could lower the interest rate it pays banks on reserves kept at the Fed, which might push some money into circulation. It could also seek to provide low-cost financing for certain kinds of lending, like mortgage loans, emulating a program recently begun by the Bank of England. 
 
 Several Fed officials have said they would like to replace the time horizon for current policy with a trigger tied to economic data, declaring, for example, that the Fed is likely to keep interest rates near zero until the unemployment rate falls below a specified level, or until economic output exceeds a certain threshold. 
 
 The internal debate underscored a striking contrast with Mr. Bernanke’s speech at this same conference in 2010, when he gave the first indication that the Fed would embark on a second round of asset purchases. 
 
 Then, Mr. Bernanke devoted most of his remarks to establishing the need for action, largely taking for granted that the Fed had the power to improve the economy. On Friday, it was the need for action that Mr. Bernanke took for granted. The question now is how much more the Fed can do. ||||| If the world's investors are right, the Federal Reserve is about to take a bold new step to try to invigorate the U.S. economy. 
 
 And many expect the Fed to unleash its most potent weapon: a third round of bond purchases meant to ease long-term interest rates and spur borrowing and spending. It's called "quantitative easing," or QE. 
 
 Others foresee a more measured response when the Fed ends a two-day policy meeting Thursday. They think it will extend its timetable for any rise in record-low short-term rates beyond the current target of late 2014 at the earliest. 
 
 On one point few disagree: The Fed feels driven to act now because the U.S. economy is still growing too slowly to reduce high unemployment. The unemployment rate has topped 8 percent every month since the Great Recession officially ended more than three years ago. 
 
 In August, job growth slowed sharply. The unemployment rate did fall to 8.1 percent from 8.3 percent. But that was because many Americans stopped looking for work, so they were no longer counted as unemployed. 
 
 Chronic high unemployment was a theme Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke spotlighted in a speech to an economic conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, late last month. Bernanke argued that QE and other unorthodox Fed actions had helped ease borrowing costs and boosted stock prices. 
 
 Higher stock prices increase Americans' wealth and confidence and typically lead individuals and businesses to spend more. 
 
 In his speech, Bernanke cited research showing that the two previous rounds of QE had created 2 million jobs and accelerated economic growth. Still, he said persistently weak hiring remains "a grave concern" that inflicts "enormous suffering." 
 
 His remarks sent a clear signal that the Fed will do more. 
 
 "He had a sense of urgency in that Jackson Hole speech," said David Jones, chief economist at DMJ Advisors. "I think he is convinced that there is a need to do something." 
 
 Some critics, inside and outside the Fed, remain opposed to further bond buying. They fear that by pumping so much cash into the financial system, the Fed is raising the risk of high inflation in the future. And many don't think more bond purchases would help anyway because interest rates are already near record lows. 
 
 Some economists who doubt the Fed is about to begin more bond buying say the European Central Bank has eased some pressure on the Fed. Last week, the ECB announced a plan to buy unlimited amounts of government bonds to help lower borrowing costs for countries struggling with debts. 
 
 If the ECB's plan succeeds in bolstering Europe, the U.S. economy could benefit, too. Europe's financial crisis and recession have slowed the U.S. economy, in part by reducing European purchases of U.S. goods. 
 
 Some also think the Fed might be reluctant to launch a bond-buying program in the final two months of the presidential campaign. Many Republicans have been critical of the Fed's unconventional methods to boost the economy. After the financial crisis struck in 2008, the Fed bought more than $2 trillion in Treasury and mortgage-backed securities. 
 
 The Fed "is already a campaign issue, and enlarging its balance sheet will make it even more of one," argues Vincent Reinhart, chief economist at Morgan Stanley and a former top economist at the Fed. Reinhart thinks the Fed will prefer to wait until at least December before announcing more bond buying. 
 
 By then, he says, the Fed will have reviewed more employment data. The effect of Europe's debt crisis on the U.S. economy will be better known. And Congress' plans for addressing a U.S. fiscal crisis at year's end will be clearer. Without a budget deal, higher taxes and deep spending cuts will kick in next year. 
 
 If the Fed takes the more modest step Thursday of extending its timetable for any rate increase, many analysts think it would push its target date to mid-2015. The goal would be to lower borrowing rates by assuring investors that short-term rates will likely stay near zero even longer than previously thought. 
 
 Yet Bernanke's remarks in Jackson Hole about unemployment were so downbeat, and his defense of Fed bond purchases so strong, that many economists suspect a bond-buying program will be unveiled Thursday. 
 
 So do investors. In part because of anticipation of a QE3, they've boosted the Dow Jones industrial average nearly 2 percent in September, a month that's typically weak for stocks. On Tuesday, the Dow rose 69 points. And Treasury yields have dropped on expectations that a new Fed bond-purchase program would lower interest rates. 
 
 The concern Bernanke expressed in Jackson Hole followed a Fed policy meeting in which many officials felt more Fed action would "likely be warranted fairly soon" unless there was a "substantial and sustainable strengthening in the pace of the economic recovery," according to minutes of the meeting. 
 
 Friday's report that U.S. employers cut back sharply on hiring in August dimmed hopes of a strengthening job market. 
 
 If the Fed does unveil QE3, some economists think it might differ from the previous bond-buying programs. With its earlier purchases, the Fed announced a dollar amount and a time frame for the bonds it planned to buy. 
 
 This time, any new bond-purchase program might be more open-ended. Three regional Fed bank presidents _ Eric Rosengren of Boston, James Bullard of St. Louis and Charles Evans of Chicago _ have expressed openness to a program in which the Fed would buy bonds until the economy improved significantly and unemployment fell consistently _ as long as inflation remained tame. 
 
 None of those officials now have a vote on the Fed's policy committee. But they take part in the committee discussions that would allow them to push the idea. 
 
 Jones of DMJ Advisors says he thinks open-ended bond purchases will be discussed at this week's policy meeting. Still, he expects the Fed to announce a more conventional bond-buying program of around $500 billion. That would be less than the $600 billion in bonds in QE2 and well below the $1.75 trillion in QE1. 
 
 In light of Bernanke's recent comments, Jones doesn't think the Fed wants to delay further support for the economy until the election is over. Neither does Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial. 
 
 "This will be an effort on the part of Fed officials to pull out as much firepower as they can," Swonk said. "They are trying for as much shock and awe as they can muster."
– Wall Street has been waiting anxiously for a few days now to see what the Fed was going to do about the economy, and the answer arrived this afternoon: Nothing. For now. The Fed sees evidence that the economy has actually decelerated in recent months, reports MarketWatch, but it's not going to enter into new bond-buying or other such stimulus until the picture clarifies in the next month or two. Friday's jobs report might be the first indicator. In Fed-speak: “The committee will closely monitor incoming information on economic and financial developments and will provide additional accommodation as needed to promote stronger economic recovery and sustained improvement in labor market conditions," said its official statement. The Wall Street Journal parses the wording and thinks the Fed "signaled more strongly" that it will eventually take action. The New York Times, too, calls the language "somewhat stronger" than past statements.