I continue to believe that we are fortunate because we still have the fiscal space to maintain demand. There is still sufficient activity going on and enough hope for an early resurgence, to forestall an even more precipitous reduction in employment.
BIS Review 160/2009  1  Five years ago, we would have considered an unemployment rate of 5.1 per cent and an inflation rate at a similar level (5 per cent) as the reward for good economic management. But times have changed. The harsh reality is that our economy was developing at a pace and in a manner that was clearly unsustainable.