gdp of about 0. 9 per cent in the first half of 2011. if one tries to reconcile these two sets of the data, one arrives at the conclusion that there was a continued decline in economic activity in the second half of 2011. anecdotal evidence confirms this ; pointing to reduced working hours and other dislocations associated with the state of emergency and the curfew which affected, in the main, the distribution, manufacturing and even the energy sectors. the data for the first half of the year confirm a decline in crude oil and natural gas production of 7. 8 and 1. 4 per cent respectively, compared with the corresponding period of last year. as you know, there has been a secular decline in crude oil production since 2006, reflecting the maturation of our oil fields. at the same time, natural gas production has plateaued over the past few years reflecting ( a lack of new gas - based projects ) as well as capacity constraints. in addition to these structural factors, since the beginning of the year, there have been disruptions to oil and natural gas production because of ongoing safety upgrades and maintenance work at some of our production facilities. moreover, a shortage of gas supplies has also impacted output of the petro - chemical sector. in the non - energy sector, construction activity has remained at very depressed levels, reflecting the delayed start - up of several government projects and the virtual absence of new private sector construction projects. cement sales declined by 10. 5 per cent in the first half of 2011 compared to january to june 2010. latest unemployment statistics also show that the construction sector lost about 15, 500 jobs between the third quarter of 2009 and the corresponding period of 2010. some other notable economic developments are : one, the employment impact of the continued economic downturn. according to the latest official data, unemployment rose to 6. 3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2010. while official unemployment figures for 2011 are not yet available, the bank, also keeps track of the retrenchment notices lodged at the ministry of labor and small and micro - enterprises. these data show that in the third quarter of 2011 retrenchment notices were more than double the amount filed in the corresponding period of 2010 due, in large part, to the closure of one food bis central bankers ’ speeches processing company. based on information for october, the spate of retrenchment has continued apace during the last quarter of 2011. bank credit data have also reflected the depressed economic

non - energy sector that promotes an expansion in non - energy exports and a broadening of our non - energy export markets. currently, the bulk of our exports are directed to the us, the uk, and the eurozone. the conventional wisdom is that, over the medium term, growth in these traditional markets would continue to lag behind the more dynamic emerging market economies – china, india and latin america. the greater diversification of regional exports of goods and services towards these new growth poles, would make our non - energy sector less vulnerable to the kinds of shocks experienced in the past few years. ladies and gentlemen the latest budget has underscored the importance of public - private sector partnerships in the transformation of our economy. it has proposed a new financing mechanism through the junior stock exchange and has again offered government facilitation to gain entry into new export markets. it is high time that we stop talking about diversification and actually start doing it. if we are to ensure our country ’ s long - term economic viability and secure its economic future, it needs to happen sooner rather than later. the time for action is now. bis central bankers ’ speeches