is a re - evaluation of where, and how, people want to live following the pandemic. and the second is the advances in technology and changes in work practices that have reduced the need to be physically located in a workplace in a capital city. these changes are positive for many regional communities, creating new opportunities for growth and expansion. but they are also causing growing pains that need to be managed. nationally, the labour market is expected to tighten further over the next couple of years. the rba's central scenario is for the unemployment rate to reach 4¼ per cent by the end of 2022, and 4 per cent by the end of 2023 ( graph 9 ). if we could achieve this, these would be good outcomes – australia has not experienced a sustained period of unemployment at levels this low since the early 1970s. as the unemployment rate declines and workers become harder to find, greater attention will need to be paid to training and skills development than has been the case over the past few decades. https : / / www. rba. gov. au / speeches / 2021 / sp - gov - 2021 - 12 - 16. html 9 / 16 12 / 16 / 21, 10 : 38 am the rba and the australian economy | speeches | rba graph 9 unemployment rate * % forecast % * actual data is reported on a monthly basis ; forecast is as at the november 2021 smp and is projected for each quarter sources : abs ; rba the housing market i would now like to turn to the second topic – the housing market. housing prices have been rising very briskly across most of the country over the past year, although there are signs of some slowing recently in the largest capital cities. rising housing prices have been a global phenomenon – from new york to seoul to here in wagga. this reflects both the low level of interest rates and a shift in preferences for how and where people want to live. the available data suggest that average housing prices in wagga have increased by around 20 per cent over the past year, similar to the average increase in the capital cities ( graph 10 ). https : / / www. rba. gov. au / speeches / 2021 / sp - gov - 2021 - 12 - 16. html 10 / 16 12 / 16 / 21, 10 : 38 am the rba and the australian economy | speeches | rba graph 10 housing prices seasonally adjusted, january 2020 = 100 index index wagga wagga capital cities sources :

vault. today, there is around $ 100 billion of banknotes on issue, which is almost $ 4, 000 for every person in australia. the banknotes are being used less for day - to - day transactions than in the past, but there is still very strong demand for them as a store of value. reflecting this demand, there are nearly 40 $ 50 bills on issue for every australian and 18 $ 100 bills! ( graph 1 ). graph 1 banknotes in circulation per capita no no $ 5 $ 10 $ 20 $ 50 $ 100 sources : abs ; rba the rba also has a broad responsibility for the stability of the australian financial system. through our operations, we ensure that liquidity in the overall financial system is adequate and we have the capability to act as the lender of last resort in an emergency. we do not directly regulate the banks, but we work closely with the prudential regulator, apra, on issues that affect the stability of the financial system. the rba is the australian government's banker. when you receive a medicare refund, it is from a government account at the rba. and when you pay your tax, it is to the australian tax office's account at the rba. the rba also processed all the jobkeeper and covid - 19 disaster payments during the pandemic. the disaster payments were made through our infrastructure that allows payments to be made 24 hours a day, seven days a week. the rba also operates the settlement system that is at the core of australia's payments system. all banks have accounts at the rba and these accounts are used to move money from one bank to another. without this system, the economy simply wouldn't work. https : / / www. rba. gov. au / speeches / 2021 / sp - gov - 2021 - 12 - 16. html 2 / 16 12 / 16 / 21, 10 : 38 am the rba and the australian economy | speeches | rba in addition, we regulate important parts of australia's payments system, including the credit and debit card systems and atms. at present, we are exploring the possibility of a new form of digital money that could be used from a digital wallet. the rba also regulates core elements of australia's financial market infrastructure, which are central to trading in financial instruments, including on the asx. we also manage australia's foreign exchange reserves. we do this with around