This process is not new. For generations American ingenuity has been creating industries and jobs that never existed before, from vehicle assemblers to computer software engineers. With those jobs come new opportunities for workers with the necessary skills. In recent years, competition from abroad has risen to a point at which our lowest skilled workers are being priced out of the global labor market.
And, of course, it also gives me great pleasure to open the European Central Bank’s Euro Exhibition. These two complementary exhibitions share similar themes, of interest to me as a central banker. They explore the history, practicalities and overall role that money plays in our lives, and are indeed both very enlightening.