The sensitivity of wages to the cyclical situation has stepped up since mid-2012 which, in principle, suggests the labour market is functioning more in step with developments in the economy and the clearly declining trend of inflation. Indeed, in September the consumer price index posted a year-onyear rate of 0.3%, resuming a favourable difference vis-à-vis our European partners. The excessive dependence of the Spanish economy on the construction sector in the previous expansion no doubt entailed a factor of vulnerability. From the onset of the crisis in 2008, the deterioration of this sector was continuous; from then to the second quarter of this year, its real value added posted a cumulative decline of more than 40%, far higher than that recorded by the market economy as a whole, which did not exceed 10%. A major challenge facing the Spanish economy today is to have other industries, other than construction, take up the baton in terms of the creation of value added. And here, too, there are positive signs in recent quarters. The industrial sector achieved moderately positive growth in the second quarter, helped no doubt by the sound performance of exports. And the same occurred with the services sector. Despite the containment of labour costs and while bearing in mind that the data show a less adverse trend in unemployment, this is the most serious of our macroeconomic imbalances and that showing most resistance to correction.
There are promising signs, among business and regulatory sectors, that there is a growing space for captives to play a role. It is important that we move forward to harness this potential, responsibly and thoughtfully. 4/4  BIS central bankers' speeches