rates, tighter credit supply conditions and lower demand. our latest bank lending survey reported a tightening of overall credit standards, which was stronger than banks had expected in the previous round and suggests that lending may weaken further. weak lending has meant that money growth has also continued to decline. conclusion summing up, the inflation outlook continues to be too high for too long. in light of the ongoing high inflation pressures, the governing council today decided to raise the three key ecb interest rates by 25 basis points. overall, the incoming information broadly supports the assessment of the medium - term inflation outlook that we formed at our previous meeting. headline inflation has declined over recent months, but underlying price pressures remain strong. at the same time, our past rate increases are being transmitted forcefully to euro area financing and monetary conditions, while the lags and strength of transmission to the real economy remain uncertain. our future decisions will ensure that the policy rates will be brought to levels sufficiently restrictive to achieve a timely return of inflation to our two per cent medium - term target and will be kept at those levels for as long as necessary. we will continue to follow a data - dependent approach to determining the appropriate level and duration of restriction. in particular, our policy rate decisions will continue to be based on our assessment of the inflation outlook in light of the incoming economic and financial data, the dynamics of underlying inflation, and the strength of monetary policy transmission. 3 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches in any case, we stand ready to adjust all of our instruments within our mandate to ensure that inflation returns to our medium - term target and to preserve the smooth functioning of monetary policy transmission. we are now ready to take your questions. 4 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches

recent months but remain weaker than before russia's unjustified war against ukraine and its people. we see a divergence across sectors of the economy. the manufacturing sector is working 1 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches through a backlog of orders, but its prospects are worsening. the services sector is growing more strongly, especially owing to the reopening of the economy. household incomes are benefiting from the strength of the labour market, with the unemployment rate falling to a new historical low of 6. 5 per cent in march. employment has continued to grow and total hours worked exceed pre - pandemic levels. at the same time, the average number of hours worked remains somewhat below its pre - pandemic level and its recovery has stalled since mid - 2022. as the energy crisis fades, governments should roll back the related support measures promptly and in a concerted manner to avoid driving up medium - term inflationary pressures, which would call for a stronger monetary policy response. fiscal policies should be oriented towards making our economy more productive and gradually bringing down high public debt. policies to enhance the euro area's supply capacity, especially in the energy sector, can also help reduce price pressures in the medium term. in this regard, we welcome the publication of the european commission's legislative proposals for the reform of the eu's economic governance framework, which should be concluded soon. inflation according to eurostat's flash estimate, inflation was 7. 0 per cent in april, after having dropped from 8. 5 per cent in february to 6. 9 per cent in march. while base effects led to some increase in energy price inflation, from - 0. 9 per cent in march to 2. 5 per cent in april, the rate stands far below those recorded after the start of russia's war against ukraine. food price inflation remains elevated, however, standing at 13. 6 per cent in april, after 15. 5 per cent in march. price pressures remain strong. inflation excluding energy and food was 5. 6 per cent in april, having edged down slightly compared with march to return to its february level. non - energy industrial goods inflation fell to 6. 2 per cent in april, from 6. 6 per cent in march, when it declined for the first time in several months. but services inflation increased to 5. 2 per cent in april, from 5. 1 per cent in march. inflation is still being pushed up by the gradual pass - through