the past two and a half years or so, house prices have continued to trend down, albeit at a slower pace than in 2007 and 2008. and single - family housing starts have shown no noticeable increase since their low point in the middle of 2009, although multifamily construction has been rising with the expanding demand for rental apartments. the general stagnation in housing activity during the current recovery is very unusual since previous recoveries typically have been accompanied by a sharp increase in residential construction. the pace of economic recovery has also been sluggish for small businesses. these firms continue to report weak sales, although some recent indications suggest that sales have finally started to improve lately. nevertheless, small business owners generally report that they remain cautious about overall economic prospects. bis central bankers ’ speeches the los angeles economy has had farther to climb than the nation as a whole in order to achieve a full recovery, and it also has been slow - going here. the unemployment rate in the los angeles area has been declining, but, still at almost 12 percent, it remains well above the national average. the housing market in los angeles has remained depressed, similar to conditions nationwide. house prices in the los angeles area have continued to decline, and single - family construction has been flat, although multifamily construction has picked up. nationally, some economic news has been encouraging and may be suggesting that the pace of the recovery is picking up. in the past six months, the national unemployment rate has come down about 3 / 4 percentage point and employment has increased by about 1 million. in los angeles, employment expanded by 1 percent over the six months ending in february ( the latest available data ), and the local - area unemployment rate also declined about 3 / 4 percentage point. however, the national economic recovery clearly has a long way to go. the share of unemployed workers who have been without a job for more than six months is still more than 40 percent nationwide, a level well above that seen in earlier recessions. being unemployed for such a long time can have negative effects on workers ’ skills and their attachment to the labor force, thereby possibly reducing the productive capacity of our economy. here in los angeles, the issue of workforce skills is all the more concerning because 13 percent of the city ’ s residents are reported to have less than a ninth - grade education, a share of loweducation workers that is about twice the national average. how surprising is the texture and pace of this economic recovery? perhaps it ’

expanded access to loans offered by financial institutions. thus far, cgc has done a commendable job, providing guarantees to more than 420, 000 companies, representing about 65 % of the total smes, with total loans approved of more than rm51 billion as at end of 2012. smes are an important agent of growth and a component to support the nation ’ s aspiration to transform into high income and a high value - added economy. as a group, smes is a formidable force in the economy, as it forms 97. 3 % of established businesses and provides employment to 57. 3 % of the nation ’ s workforce. this contribution was recognised in the sme master plan where the growth by smes to the gdp is targeted to increase from 32. 5 % currently, to 41 % by 2020. as the economy grows and becomes more sophisticated, so does the needs and requirements by the smes. in this regards, cgc has shown its ability to constantly reinvent itself to meet the needs of both the smes and financial institutions over the last 40 years. looking at the list of cgc schemes throughout the years, the development of cgc ’ s products had mirrored the development of the country and the increased sophistication of the economy. from the book, we can see a long list of cgc schemes introduced throughout the years, each reflecting the stage of development of the country then, and also consistent with the strategy of the country ’ s economic policies. from cgc ’ s earliest products such as the keluaran dalam negeri kasardan pendapatan negara kasar pada harga semasa dan harga malar, economic planning unit ( epu ) statistics bank negara malaysia data bis central bankers ’ speeches hawkers and petty traders loan scheme, catering to financing as low as rm500, to the recent green technology financing scheme, cgc has done well in providing the needed support to the ever - progressing and expanded nature of the malaysian economy. cgc ’ s achievements would not have been possible without the support of the financial institutions. the successes of cgc ’ s guarantee schemes were the result of the trust and collaboration between the corporation and the participating financial institutions. it is for this reason that over the years many achievements have materialised. cgc has achieved a lot of success it can be proud of, but as with life, we must move forward. change is constant it becomes more rapid. there