A third question which could be asked about our approach concerns Australia’s potential growth rate. We are, I think, rightly proud of our growth performance during the current expansion, especially of our average of 4½% per annum since mid-1997 when we were hit by the Asian crisis.
Federal Reserve staff analysis indicates that unemployment is likely above 20 percent for workers in the bottom wage quartile, while it has fallen below 5 percent for the top wage quartile. 20 Black and Hispanic unemployment stood at 9.9 percent and 9.3 percent, respectively, in December, while White unemployment was 6.0 percent.