unit ( base 100 in 1987 ). a fall in the indicator means lower costs and thus better competitiveness. this remarkable trend in our production costs - made possible by long - run low inflation - is a major achievement of the cross - party economic and monetary strategy pursued by the french government and central bank over a long period. it is important for france and the euro area to maintain and consolidate this strong cost - competitiveness position. since the introduction of the single currency, it is more important than ever that we very closely monitor the indicator for unit production costs as it determines the competitiveness of the goods manufactured in our economy and therefore the current level of employment. this indicator also determines future employment because it dictates the attractiveness of an investment in our economy compared to elsewhere, particularly outside the euro area. allow me to lastly make a general remark about our strategic approach to growth. under the notable influence of new information and communication technologies, a change is underway in the overall attitude of europeans in general and french people in particular concerning the motors of economic growth and job creation. persistent mass unemployment, the structural causes of which were poorly understood, had for a long time led to the adoption of certain malthusian attitudes : wariness towards technical progress as it could potentially destroy jobs, the avoidance of productivity - enhancing investments thought to contribute to higher unemployment and, lastly, efforts to reduce the available work force with a view to sharing the same number of jobs between a smaller number of people. having thus sought to limit technical progress, the available work force and the capital stock, it is not surprising that, despite the considerable progress in recent years, europe and france have seen that their non - inflationary growth potential was still not as high as would have been desirable. in europe and in france, we are seeing a profound change in perspective and are moving away from malthusian attitudes. the banque de france and the entire eurosystem can be counted upon to support this change. this is why the monetary policy council continues to make the following recommendations : in the interest of currency and price stability and therefore of robust growth, sustainable because it is non - inflationary and effective in combating unemployment, it is now more than ever the time to : – invest and ease the constraints on capital. investment is essential in our economy, in which the capacity utilisation rate currently stands at about 87 % and 31 % of firms are experiencing production bottlenecks. an increase in the capital stock is necessary to

achieve faster growth today and to eliminate inflationary pressure ; – reduce the constraints on labour. in an economy, in which 42 % of businesses are at present indicating that they are encountering serious recruitment difficulties, especially for skilled labour, it is necessary to not only step up training and education efforts, but also to accept the extensive use of overtime in all sectors where there is a labour shortage. moreover, the increase in europe ’ s employment ratio from 61 % today to 70 % in ten years time, decided upon at the european council meeting in lisbon in order to expand the labour force, is particularly opportune and reveals a profound change in attitude ; – actively seek productivity improvements, which lie at the very heart of economic growth. now is the time to embrace technical progress, the digital revolution, new information and communication technologies, biotechnology and material sciences. in a french and a european economy characterised up to now by lower productivity growth than in the united states since 1995, this openness to technical progress and rapid productivity enhancement is a crucial factor if we are to achieve our ambitions of faster growth today, durably low inflation and robust, sustainable growth.