of the country ’ s economy, creating the conditions for the development of a sustainable financial infrastructure, in line with contemporary developments in this field, including the development of new segments of the financial system such as the capital market, which requires a broad interinstitutional interaction. * * * before i receive your questions, let me inform you that the cbk has continued to announce the already traditional competition for the “ young economist ” award. on this occasion, i would like to 4 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches thank and congratulate all the candidates for their works that they have submitted within this competition. this activity aims to promote research activities in the field of economics among young people. based on the assessment of the professional commission for the submitted works, i am pleased to announce the winner of this award, erzana uka, with the topic " the impact of digitalization on the banking system ". in the end, hoping and believing that next year will be a more positive year in all aspects, i wish good health, joy and success to all of you and your families. 5 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches

which should translate into a rebound in labor force participation as more parents overseeing virtual education and child care are able to increase hours or return to the workforce. the biggest risk to the outlook continues to be the course of the pandemic. i see good reasons to be optimistic. vaccinations are proceeding at a rapid pace, and this progress is supporting decisions by state and local leaders to relax economic restrictions. most importantly, deaths related to the virus have continued to fall steadily and are at roughly the rate as in early october of last year. i remain hopeful that progress in the economic recovery can stay ahead of new challenges that might emerge, like the spread of new virus variants. that would allow states and localities to continue easing economic and social distancing restrictions and encourage consumers and businesses to return to normal activities. i understand that in colorado, for example, officials are considering lifting social - distancing restrictions on individuals and businesses. i would be interested to hear from this group about how businesses in colorado have been faring and whether they have seen an improvement in demand as the pandemic conditions are easing. while i am optimistic about the ongoing recovery, one lesson of the past year is the significant degree of uncertainty about the course of the virus and its effect on the economy. we experienced periods of considerable progress last year, but we saw some of that progress overtaken by waves of the infection late in the year. likewise, economic growth rebounded much more quickly than many had expected, but then slowed late in 2020 before regaining speed following the availability of the vaccine. even with recent encouraging reports on food services, activity in the travel, leisure, and hospitality sectors is still severely compromised, but is showing glimmers of activity. it may be some time before we know whether old habits will resume or new habits have developed that may define a post - pandemic new normal. as i noted in a recent speech, i am particularly concerned about the longer - term effect on small businesses, many of which have held on with government aid and loan forbearance programs that will soon expire. 1 it will be several months before we know the final count of permanent small business closures from 2020, but it could be more than we expect. i will now turn to how the federal reserve is proceeding in light of the strong signals of momentum building in the economy. the economic recovery is not yet complete, and the uncertain course of the pandemic still presents risks in the near term