labour force in hedmark and 2. 9 per cent in oppland had registered as unemployed. this is well below the national average of 3. 9 per cent. the increase in unemployment on a national basis in 2002 primarily occurred in the service industries. in january, manufacturing took over the lead as the industry with the highest increase in unemployment. manufacturing unemployment is now 3700 higher than a year ago. agriculture and forestry account for a larger share of employment in hedmark than in other counties. because of the large tracts of forest in this county, forestry is a particularly important sector. the wood and wood products industry accounts for about a fourth of manufacturing employment. as in the rest of the country, the public sector and parts of the private service sector are important for employment in hedmark. business and financial services account for a smaller share than the national average. in spite of interest rate cuts and a stimulatory government budget, overall economic policy has been tight as a result of the strong krone. the depreciation of the krone exchange rate since january and the reduction in the interest rate have, however, contributed to an easing of monetary policy. in the inflation report, we presented two alternative scenarios for the norwegian economy. in the baseline scenario, where the interest rate is held constant at 5½ per cent and the krone exchange rate at the average for the past month, mainland gdp is projected to increase by 1¼ per cent this year and 2 per cent next year. this is lower than what is considered the long - term growth potential in the economy. in 2005, growth is projected at 2¼ per cent. an alternative scenario, which incorporates monetary policy easing in line with market expectations - as they were then, points to higher growth over time. the rise in prices for goods and services produced in norway is being influenced by markedly higher wage growth in norway relative to trading partners. wage growth moved up further last year, even in industries where profitability had weakened considerably. a more moderate rise since last summer is related in part to lower air transport prices ( increased competition between airlines ) and a slower rise in house rents. the rise in prices for imported consumer goods has been pushed down by the strong krone exchange rate. the shift in clothing imports from high - cost countries to asia and eastern europe has also contributed. in the near term, the appreciation of the krone over the past two years will be reflected in the underlying rise in prices. subsequent developments will

actually grew by 26. 3 percent ( from 991 to 1252 ) between 2010 and 2015 but your branches in 1st to 5th class municipalities grew by 37. 5 percent ( from 304 to 418 ). certainly, the bulk of your branches are still in 1st and 2nd class municipalities but i am encouraged by the expansion elsewhere. what were just 35 branches in 3rd to 5th class municipalities in 2010 are now 73 branches as of end 2015. the numbers may be modest in absolute terms but the pace of growth is not trivial. which brings me back to your conference theme : “ thrift banks : sustaining the momentum for inclusive growth ”. now, a critical question comes to mind - - how can / do thrift banks contribute to inclusive growth? i think with some pragmatism and humility, we would be well - served to “ scope ” the response to this and say that thrift banks play a role in financial inclusion, which promotes inclusive growth. inclusive growth and the role of the thrift banks there are several policy issues which are being considered in the space of financial inclusion. for thrift banks, i think two of these are most relevant. first, we would want to ensure that there is symbiotic relationship between financial inclusion and financial stability. certainly, it defeats our prudential purposes if the attainment of one comes at the expense of the other. here, your expanding footprint strategy is a critical element. as banking services are offered outside of the traditional city - centers, the expectation is that the dynamics between inclusion and stability can very well change. the bsp and the bis are currently writing a paper on the relationship between inclusion and stability to explore the empirical linkages. the preliminary results suggest that information between a bank and its clients as well as the relationship between a bank and other banks in the vicinity do matter. this sounds rather straightforward but the implications on the operations of banks are not simple. in practice, this means each bank must maintain a continuing dialogue with its stakeholders. this kind of transparency is not just “ another disclosure regime ”. rather, it is communication that prevents surprises and allows stakeholders to make informed decisions, avoiding the sharp spikes that often create and / or exacerbate evolving issues. bis central bankers ’ speeches furthermore, banks must be cognizant that stakeholders do look at the localized community of financial service providers. in this day and age of electronic communication and affordable channels, financial consumers demand “ banking services ”, which may no longer