on - year in the last two quarters in spain, while gdp growth gradually slowed, to 1. 8 % year - on - year in q3. 3 as a result, apparent labour productivity, whether measured per worker or hour worked, performed very poorly. for example, in 2023 q2, in spain it stood at a similar level to that observed at end - 2019. overall, the employment recovery profiles are quite similar in spain and the euro area as a whole, although in spain the decline in the number of persons in effective employment was somewhat sharper in 2020 q2 and employment recovered somewhat faster from 2021 onwards. in the euro area, despite the slo wdo wn in gdp growth to 0. 5 % in q2 this year, emplo yment continued to grow at 2. 4 %. a second common characteristic of this period is that since 2019 total employment measured in actual hours worked has grown less than the number of persons employed. in other words, the average number of hours worked per person employed has decreased. in spain, in 2023 q3 this figure stood 2. 1 % below its pre - pandemic level. in the euro area, on information to 2023 q2, the negative gap was - 0. 8 %. during the pandemic, this decline was largely due to job retention schemes being used extensively to protect jobs ( in spain, these schemes covered over 20 % of employees in april 2020 ). 4 however, since 2021 the number of hours worked per person employed has never fully recovered, either in spain or the euro area, reflecting various conjunctural factors, such as the greater importance of certain services sectors ( for example, public sector employment, where the average working hours are shorter ) and the increase in sick leave, which remains above pre - 2020 levels. 5 at the same time, average working hours in most advanced economies have historically trended downward due to technological progress and other structural factors, such as the growing importance of the services sectors, greater female participation in the labour market and the higher part - time employment rate. 6 in terms o f emplo yment statistics, wo rkers under a jo b retentio n scheme are co unted as emplo yed, and the extensive use o f jo b retentio n schemes is reflected in the sharp dro p in the number o f actual ho urs wo rked. again, this can also be

. co. uk / publications / pages / speeches / default. aspx of course, given the uncertainties around climate, not everyone will agree on the timing or the scale of adjustments required to achieve this goal. but the right information will allow optimists and pessimists, sceptics and evangelists, to back their convictions with their capital. the main obstacle standing in the way of a smooth and timely market - led adjustment has been the absence of quality information on climate - related financial risks and opportunities. as the task force has highlighted, a significant number of climate - disclosure regimes – indeed on some counts around 400 – already exist. but existing schemes vary in their status, coverage and ambition. for example, while 80 % of fortune 500 companies participate in one of the existing schemes, it remains the case that only around a third of the top 1, 000 us companies produce broadly comparable information on the climate - related financial risks they face. the task force ’ s report – presented to you today – shows the way forward. let me highlight some of its recommendations that will make a major contribution. the first breakthrough is a disclosure framework that it sufficiently comprehensive for use by all publicly - listed companies, whatever their sector, across the full set of climate - related financial risks they face. the recommendations are designed to leverage, rather than replace, existing disclosure regimes. so the task force has set out how firms can comply more effectively with existing disclosure obligations, by disclosing their climate - related financial risks and opportunities in their mainstream financial reports. in turn, this should ensure that consideration of climate - related financial risk, and opportunities, is properly embedded within, and subject to, firms ’ corporate governance and risk management. reporting on these risks cannot remain a niche activity. decision - useful, actionable information the disclosure recommendations deliver actionable information that will be useful in decision making. in particular, they focus on four areas critical to how real - world businesses operate : governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics. see oecd ( 2015 ), “ climate change disclosure in g20 countries ”. all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / publications / pages / speeches / default. aspx the expectation is that qualitative and narrative disclosures will be complemented with quantitative ones as is the case for other disclosures made in financial statements. these are grouped into the categories of revenues, expenditures, assets and liabilities and