THE FED SETS OUT MANY REASONS TO WORRY ABOUT THE ECONOMY

Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June meeting show that officials remained seriously concerned, even as states reopened.

WASHINGTON — Some businesses will not make it through the pandemic-spurred economic crisis. Consumer spending will not fully bounce back even into next year. And there is a serious chance of a double-dip downturn that could permanently scar the American labor force.

Those are some of the major points from the minutes released Wednesday of the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting in which officials and central bank staff paint a bleak picture of what lies ahead for the American economy.

In the time since that gathering, held June 9 and 10, officials — including Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair — have stressed that the economic outlook is deeply uncertain and have warned that containing the virus pandemic will be crucial to a recovery. But the minutes offer a glimpse into the concerns that occupied the Fed’s full slate of policymakers, 17 in all, when they last met.

The officials cited “extraordinary” uncertainty and “considerable risks” to the outlook. A number saw “substantial likelihood” of additional waves of virus outbreaks, with the potential to cause a drawn-out period of economic weakness. And they were concerned that government support could end too early or prove too small to handle the crisis at hand.

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