Indeed, employment held up well during the recession, declining by less than 2 percent over a brief period in early 2009, and has averaged a nearly 3 percent annualized growth rate since then. Job growth has been particularly strong at retailers, hotels and restaurants, and also service firms ranging from advertising to engineering. That said, the employment picture does have some difficulties. For example, there is concern over some well-paying health sector jobs given the financial strain at Long Island College Hospital and Interfaith Medical Center and the pressure to close those institutions. Brooklyn’s economic vitality is also reflected in the commercial real estate market, as both office and retail vacancy rates have fallen steadily over the past few years. In fact, office vacancy rates are now lower in Brooklyn than in Manhattan. The strength in the housing market is also evident, with the median home price up by roughly 10 percent in each of the past two years, and the rental market has shown similar strength. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  However, these increasing prices also raise two other issues that acutely afflict many in Brooklyn and New York City more broadly: housing affordability and poverty. Despite Brooklyn’s economic renaissance and growing affluence, a large swath of the Borough’s population – one in four residents – still lives in poverty, and many struggle to pay their rent or mortgage. Even with the strong pace of job creation, Brooklyn’s unemployment rate has remained high, averaging more than 9 percent in 2013.
India has acceded to the Treaty of Amity and Co-operation in Southeast Asia (TAC) and adopted the Joint Declaration for Cooperation to Combat International Terrorism, signalling its strong commitment to ensure peace and security in the region. India is now a dialogue partner with ASEAN at the Summit level. Last year, the leaders adopted the suggestion of Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee and signed the ASEAN-India Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation, an interim step towards an eventual ASEAN-India FTA. Both sides have agreed to start negotiations on trade in goods this year, including an ?early harvest programme? to boost trade in selected sectors. Singapore supports this far-sighted initiative and will work actively with India and other ASEAN members to fulfil this vision. The India-Singapore CECA Bilaterally, India and Singapore are already negotiating a Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Agreement (CECA), which will be a firm basis for expanding the India-ASEAN relationship. The rewards are not only economic, but also strategic. Singapore naturally hopes to gain freer access to the Indian market. But the benefits extend well beyond this. Singapore wants to strengthen its economic ties with many different centres of prosperity and growth, and not be overly dependent on one or two major trading partners. A strong relationship with India will complement our rapidly growing links with China, and help us to realise the strategy of growing two external wings in the region, with the two emerging economic giants.