outlook survey, september, www. cfosurvey. org. data collection for the 2007 survey of consumer finances was completed early in 2008 and processing of the data is under way. an article reviewing the highlights of the data is expected to be published in the federal reserve bulletin in the first quarter of 2009. release of the public version of the micro data is expected to follow that publication ( see 2007 survey of consumer finances ). see board of governors of the federal reserve system ( 2003 ), survey of small business finances. lenders that make sba loans have not been able to securitize and sell sba - backed loans to other institutions in the secondary market. turning to credit demand, the nfib survey's results are even more pessimistic than they were in april. for example, the survey's index of small business optimism dropped in october to its lowest level since the monthly surveys began in 1986. this subdued level reflects deterioration in several components of the index, including that the fraction of respondents considering expansion in the next three months and the fraction considering capital expenditures in the next three to six months have fallen to the bottom of their ranges over the past two decades. weak plans for business expansion will likely reduce demand for loans, which could result in future declines in small business loans even without any tightening of credit supply conditions. as noted earlier, although only 5 percent of small businesses in the nfib survey ranked financing conditions as their top concern, some 23 percent of firms indicated that sales were their main concern. these results, when combined with the duke / cfo magazine survey data, suggest that consumer demand concerns generally provide the most serious challenges facing small businesses. policy responses to financial and economic developments and their implications for small business credit access i would now like to turn to a discussion of the policy actions that the federal reserve, the congress, the treasury, and other government agencies have taken in recent weeks to address the overall functioning of financial markets and the weakening of economic activity as well as how these policies should assist small businesses going forward. in response to the escalation in financial market stress that began in late september, policymakers both in the united states and other countries have taken a series of extraordinary actions aimed at restoring market functioning and improving investor confidence. the federal reserve has continued to address ongoing problems in interbank funding markets by expanding its existing lending facilities, increasing the quantity of term funds that it auctions to banks, and accommodating greater demand

in the public sector rose by 2 % to over 17, 000 employees. there was also a pickup in both the locally based work force and seasonal workers in australia and new zealand. consumer price pressures rose in 2018. headline inflation reached 4. 2 percent in december against 1. 8 percent at the end of 2017. this rate was within the bank ’ s forecasted range and was driven by stronger supply - side domestic inflation, along with the rise in imported prices. categories responsible for the spike in consumer prices during the year were education, transportation, food, and alcohol and tobacco. external conditions remained firm during the year. despite a reduction in the trade surplus, improved investment income and tourism receipts narrowed the current account deficit. as a result, the country ’ s gross foreign reserves increased by 10 percent to $ 5 billion. this level of reserves was sufficient to cover nearly 13 months of imports and is well above the cbsi ’ s precautionary import cover threshold of 6 months. developments in the monetary sector also point to sustained growth. broad money rose by 7 percent to $ 5. 2 billion due to increases in both net foreign assets and private sector credit. lending by banks to the private sector grew by 4 percent to $ 2. 4 billion during the year. major borrowing industries were construction, distribution, transportation and manufacturing. nonetheless, interest rate margins remained high at around 10. 5 percent. meanwhile liquidity levels in the banking system continued to accumulate, rising by 14 percent to $ 2. 2 billion and was largely driven by the growth in net exports. excess liquidity remained high, although we believe it is not inflationary, particularly in view of the much lower credit growth and the supply - side nature of inflation in the country. with respect to government ’ s finances, 2018 was a positive year. the fiscal position returned to an estimated surplus of $ 191 million after two successive years of deficits, reflecting considerable fiscal consolidation. revenue in particular rose on strong collection from tax and trade - related duties, while total expenditure only grew marginally, amidst a reduction in development spending. meanwhile, government debt increased moderately and remained at around 11 percent of gdp. turning to the outlook for the economy, cbsi projects the solomon islands economy to grow by 3. 7 percent in 2019. this moderation in growth reflects the key assumption that forestry will finally decelerate as part of the government ’ s new policy to achieve sustainability in the forestry sector. nevertheless, growth is expected to be driven by