1 / 4 percent during the previous 12 months. this slow rate of inflation partly reflects recent declines in consumer energy prices, but price inflation for other consumer goods and services has also been subdued. nevertheless, measures of longer - term inflation expectations have remained stable and continue to run in the narrow ranges seen over the past several years. over the next few years, inflation appears likely to run at or below the 2 percent rate that the federal open market committee ( fomc ) judges to be most consistent with the federal reserve ’ s statutory mandate to foster maximum employment and stable prices. over the nearly four years since the recovery began, the economy has been held back by a number of headwinds. some of these headwinds have begun to dissipate recently, in part because of the federal reserve ’ s highly accommodative monetary policy. notably, the housing market has strengthened over the past year, supported by low mortgage rates and improved sentiment on the part of potential buyers. increased housing activity is fostering job bis central bankers ’ speeches creation in construction and related industries, such as real estate brokerage and home furnishings, while higher home prices are bolstering household finances, which helps support the growth of private consumption. severe fiscal and financial strains in europe, by weighing on u. s. exports and financial markets, have also restrained u. s. economic growth over the past couple of years. however, since last summer, financial conditions in the euro area have improved somewhat, which should help mitigate the economic slowdown there while also reducing the headwinds faced by the u. s. economy. also, credit conditions in the united states have eased for some types of loans, as bank capital and asset quality have strengthened. fiscal policy fiscal policy, at all levels of government, has been and continues to be an important determinant of the pace of economic growth. federal fiscal policy, taking into account both discretionary actions and so - called automatic stabilizers, was, on net, quite expansionary during the recession and early in the recovery. however, a substantial part of this impetus was offset by spending cuts and tax increases by state and local governments, most of which are subject to balanced - budget requirements, and by subsequent fiscal tightening at the federal level. notably, over the past four years, state and local governments have cut civilian government employment by roughly 700, 000 jobs, and total government employment has fallen by more than 800, 000 jobs over the same period.

users, concrete testimonials about the transformative power of embracing change. recognizing the intended gains we have achieved thus far, we acknowledge that there is, however, still a lot of ground to cover. based on the 2017 financial inclusion survey, only 18 % of filipino adults with an account used this for payments and 64 % cited a preference for cash payments. a significant 20 % are not even aware of the electronic payment option. the foregoing statistics reveal where business, as well as financial inclusion opportunities, lie. our goal is to democratize access to a transaction account, and make every transaction account useful not only as a store of value but also as a convenient and affordable means to pay, remit and receive funds. in this regard, we provide an enabling regulatory environment that encourages increased use of affordable digital channels for payments, fund transfers and remittances. this include allowing the participation of convenient and non - intimidating third parties like grocery stores, pharmacies and other retail outlets as banks ’ cash agents. just yesterday, we have yet witnessed another milestone that can exponentially push forward our financial inclusion digitalization agenda. the philippine id system ( philsys ) act was signed into 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches law by the president. republic act 11055 establishes a biometric based, foundational national identification system that aims to provide every filipino and even foreign residents with a trusted and verifiable digital identity. philsys, therefore, addresses the key barriers to opening a bank account, particularly the cost of on - boarding as well as the lack of acceptable identification particularly for low - income and vulnerable sectors of our society. access to this account is an essential requirement to fully participate in and benefit from the digital finance ecosystem envisioned under the nrps. it can also remove friction points and catalyze key use - cases for digital payments such as government cash transfers. down the road, it can make possible convenient fund transfer using an individual ’ s philsys number as the identifier. ladies and gentlemen, we often hear the saying that “ change is the only constant ”. change is certainly inevitable as we witnessed and continue to witness evolving trends in technology and digital innovations. ultimately, these developments cascade to business models and processes, including a consumer ’ s payment process and behavior, whether that consumer be a government, corporate or individual. dear friends from the media, we hope that you can be our partners in communicating how pesonet, as well as other