•  The second focuses on the effects of climate risks on the economy and the financial system as a whole. This workstream aims to promote the modelling of and economic research into specific climate issues and to draw up global stress scenarios that can be used as a basis for monetary policy and macroprudential supervision. The SNB is a member of this workstream. It is particularly interested in contributing to this group’s activities as it wishes to explore ways to refine and augment its own analyses and tools. •  The third workstream, in which the SNB also participates, examines developments in sustainable finance and the role of central banks and supervisory authorities in promoting socially responsible investment within the scope of their mandates. The  Climate change could also impact productivity, potential growth and, ultimately, the long-term natural rate of interest. For more on this subject, cf. Brainard, L. (2019), ‘Why climate change matters for monetary policy and financial stability’, remarks at conference on ‘The economics of climate change’, San Francisco, 8 November, as well as Weidmann, J. (2019), ‘Climate change and central banks’, introductory remarks at the Deutsche Bundesbank’s second ‘Financial Markets Conference’, Frankfurt am Main, 29 October. Page 6/12  SNB is well placed to contribute here by sharing its experience as a global investor, a subject that we will investigate in more detail in a moment.
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.