morning i visited the fort bliss army community service training center, which offers classes on such financial topics as budgeting, debt management, understanding credit, car buying, and protecting against identity theft. more broadly, according to a recent study, 80 percent of veterans said their military experience helped them get ahead in life. 1 they said the experience helped them mature, taught them to work with others, and built their self - confidence. the value of military experience is reflected in the fact that the unemployment rate for veterans tends to be lower than the rate for non - veterans. 2 second, when you leave the military, take advantage of education benefits for veterans. the post - 9 / 11 gi bill pays for tuition and fees, a monthly housing allowance, and books and supplies. keep in mind that, on average, compared with high school graduates, people with college degrees earn about twice as much and suffer about half the rate of unemployment. 3 finally, educate yourself about your own personal finances. research by the federal reserve right here at fort bliss shows that financial education can pay off. 4 beginning in 2003, the federal reserve collaborated with army emergency relief, the u. s. army ’ s own financial assistance organization, to provide a two - day financial education course, taught by see pew research center ( 2011 ), “ war and sacrifice in the post - 9 / 11 era : the military - civilian gap ” ( washington : prc, october 5 ) available at www. pewsocialtrends. org / 2011 / 10 / 05 / war - and - sacrifice - inthe - post - 911 - era / 1. in october 2011, the unemployment rate was 7. 7 percent for veterans and 8. 8 percent for non - veterans ( not seasonally adjusted, age 18 and older ). in october 2011, the unemployment rate for college graduates was 4. 4 percent compared with 9. 6 percent for those with only a high school education. see catherine bell, daniel gorin, and jeanne m. hogarth ( 2009 ), “ does financial education affect soldiers'financial behavior? ” networks financial institute working paper 2009 - wp - 08 ( terre haute, ind. : nfi at indiana state university, august ), www. networksfinancialinstitute. org / lists / publication % 20library / attachments / 140 / 2009 - wp08 _ bell _ gorin _ hogarth. pdf. bis central bankers ’ speeches the staff of san diego city

. 8 % in 2001, clearly above the figure of 1. 5 % posted in the euro area. the maintenance of high job creation rates during 2001, set against the slowing trend marked by general developments in the economy, and the favourable financial conditions in place contributed to sustaining household income and helped underpin consumer spending and residential investment. however, the declining course of investment in capital goods steepened in the face of heightening uncertainty, worsening expectations and slowing final demand, which the generous financial conditions were unable to offset. the effects on activity were reinforced by the fall in the growth rate of exports as from the early months of 2001. in any event, the trends apparent at the beginning of the year 2002 ( namely greater growth in the economy in quarter - on - quarter terms but with something of a loss of steam in job creation and in consumption, accompanied by a check on the rate of decline of investment and continuing sluggishness in exports ) are consistent with a scenario of gradual recovery, but fail to dispel the uncertainty over its intensity and scale. the profile of the spanish inflation rate during 2001 was similar to that in the euro area as a whole, albeit maintaining a positive gap. after rising in the opening months, in the wake of dearer food and energy product prices, inflation dipped appreciably in the second half of the year, largely due to the course of oil prices on international markets. at the end of 2001 it stood at 2. 7 % in year - on - year terms. however, the initial data for 2002 have shown a more marked rebound in the 12 - month growth rate of consumer prices than that recorded in the euro area as a whole, due partly to temporary factors that should be reabsorbed in the coming months. of concern to us is the persistence in the spanish economy of inflationary biases reflected in the inflation gap with the euro area, especially when they are manifest in the behaviour of unit labour costs. i shall refer to the risks this entails later. the change in the cyclical pattern of the spanish economy as i said at the outset, these features of the recent slowdown in the spanish economy have shown up a different pattern of behaviour than that followed in previous cycles. the factors accounting for this change are related both to the conditions of greater macroeconomic stability attained by the spanish economy in its convergence towards and integration into the euro area, and to the progress made in terms of structural reforms. these factors have had a bearing