a measure of firms ’ expectations for activity six months from now, also signal continued expansion. consumer spending, which makes up about 70 percent of gdp in the u. s., is also increasing. like gdp, real consumption has surpassed its previous peak and appears to be growing at a moderate pace. households continue to pay down debt and rebuild some of the net worth that was destroyed during the recession. higher energy and food prices have been a drag on recent consumer spending. but more important than gas prices for the health of the economy and the strength of consumer spending is job growth. so let me turn to labor markets. labor markets overall, conditions in the labor markets continue to gradually improve. but the path has not been a smooth one nor has it been as robust as one might like. in may, nonfarm payrolls expanded by 54, 000 jobs, after growing by 232, 000 jobs in april and 194, 000 in march. the u. s. economy has added over 780, 000 jobs since the first of the year. the private sector has managed to increase payrolls by more than 900, 000, but government employment has been shrinking, thus dragging net hiring down below 800, 000. may ’ s uptick in the unemployment rate to 9. 1 percent was a bit disappointing, but even with that, the unemployment rate has fallen by 0. 7 percent since last november. despite these modest improvements in labor market conditions, millions of americans remain unemployed. so we have a long way to go. but as the economy strengthens this year, i expect that businesses will continue to add to their payrolls. with continued growth in employment, i expect to see modest declines in the unemployment rate, to about 8½ percent by the end of this year, and then to a range of 7 to 7½ percent by the end of 2012. see charles plosser, “ the scope and responsibilities of monetary policy, ” federal reserve bank of philadelphia annual report 2010. bis central bankers ’ speeches inflation inflation has risen in recent months as the prices of energy and other commodities have surged. these prices have been extremely volatile of late, and despite some recent retrenchment, they remain considerably above their levels of just over six months ago, when the fed embarked on its plan to purchase $ 600 billion of long - term u. s. treasuries. while headline inflation has risen markedly, there has been less of an increase in the so - called core measures of inflation,

change and deforestation in agriculture and livestock extension. the air, ocean, and soil pollution, unsustainable fisheries, and the pressures of unorganized and unplanned urbanization also take their toll on biodiversity. our non - renewable and renewable wealth are economic assets we need to include to manage adequately. issues in america latina these problems are acute not only in mexico but in other emerging markets and lowincome countries, like brazil, colombia, peru, and venezuela, to mention a few in latin america. 2 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches currently, numerous projects are aimed at addressing the risks of climate change and loss of biodiversity ; however, many are isolated and need more. this is where the private financial sector can help, and financial innovation is critical in accessing and tapping international capital markets to protect and restore nature. biodiversity, investment, and financing the increasing public scrutiny of corporate investments is a powerful incentive for the private sector to align their business decisions, as they may face reputational risk. on the other hand, financial institutions may be exposed to lending or investments that negatively impact biodiversity. for our part, there are significant challenges for financial regulators and supervisors that include : bridging the data gaps, supporting the assessment of the value of ecosystem services in different industries, creating the skills and capacities to analyze biodiversity risks, supporting the development of innovative solutions to finance the conservation and restoration of biodiversity, and building the necessary financial architecture for efficiently mobilizing capital and investments contributing to global biodiversity conservation. nowadays, there is a significant build - up of momentum and a positive change of attitude towards biodiversity and natural capital. we see it in work being done to develop data and information needed for economic and financial analysis and decisionmaking. market - led institutions are welcome. for instance, the market - led task force on nature - related financial disclosures ( tnfd ), of which banco de mexico has been a forum member since 2021, is tackling the complex problem of governance and strategy issues, addressing risk analysis from biodiversity degradation, and identifying data and metrics for the corporate world. the tnfd emulates and has the same pillars as the influential task force on climaterelated financial disclosures ( tcfd ), which in 2017 published its mission : "... to develop and deliver a risk management and disclosure framework for organisations to report and act on evolving nature - related risks and opportunities, with the ultimate aim of supporting a shift in global financial