Some Fed watchers expect Yellen to re-emphasize that April will be a "live meeting," meaning the central bank could raise rates, the market is placing low odds on it actually moving. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics said a key will be whether Yellen starts to discuss what would happen if the Fed does not start moving to normalcy. That would not mean the Fed would be ready to raise rates in April, but would signal that it intends to hike soon and keep hiking, he said.
Diane Swonk, founder and CEO of DS Economics., however, said there is more labor slack than meets the eye, and that's clear in a reluctant consumer. "I think she'll reaffirm her concern about wages and that growth is tepid. She's argued there's still a slack in the labor market and she's been proven right on that," Swonk said. "It's not a 4.9 percent unemployment rate economy."