The very accommodative monetary policy that we implemented in response was aimed at helping to heal the labor market and promote price stability. Slowly, the economy began to respond and to recover. In October 2014, the FOMC announced the end of its latest asset purchase program citing that “there has been substantial improvement in the outlook for the labor market since the inception of its current asset purchase program.” In March 2015, the BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  FOMC set out conditions for the decision to begin to normalize monetary policy, stating “The Committee anticipates that it will be appropriate to raise the target range for the federal funds rate when it has seen further improvement in the labor market and is reasonably confident that inflation will move back to its 2 percent objective over the medium term.” The FOMC judged at its December 2015 meeting that those conditions had been met. The improvement that we have seen in the labor market is very welcome. It took until May 2014 for the labor market to recover the jobs lost in the recession, but now there are 5.3 million jobs beyond the prior cyclical peak. The unemployment rate has declined to 5.0 percent. With this improvement, the number of long-term unemployed has been reduced to 2.2 million. Despite these gains, it is important to emphasize that more needs to be done to improve the labor market.
We will of course work closely with the LIA in this regard. Conclusion 29. Let me conclude with a broad note on talent development for the insurance industry. 30. Over the years, MAS has been working closely with many of you on various manpower development initiatives. The Insurance Talent Development framework jointly developed with the industry in particular, focuses on expanding the talent pipeline for leadership positions. Last year, MAS successfully rolled out the non-life track under the Insurance Management Associate Programme and is now working closely with the Singapore College of Insurance to launch the life track this year. 31. I strongly encourage all of you to continue with your investment in talent development. This should go beyond technical competencies but to include issues of ethics and conduct. 32. To end off, I am sure some of you may have seen the internet discussion around the Chinese New Year on whether this is the Year of the Sheep, the Goat or the Ram. I think many of us have settled for the Goat. As one of my colleagues noted, goats are resilient and intelligent creatures; able to maintain their balance in the most precarious of places but yet, possess a calm and unexcited exterior with a beard that conveys a certain wisdom. So may I wish everyone all these fine qualities of the Goat. 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches