Yellen's remarks were delivered to a meeting of the Corporation for Enterprise Development a day after the Fed's main policy committee decided to keep its current interest rate guidance intact.

The short statement by the Fed chair noted that the financial position of many low and middle income families remained below where it was before the 2007 to 2009 financial crisis as a result of depressed housing values and a drop in income.

(Reporting By Howard Schneider; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)