Refresh this chart in your browser | Edit the chart in Datastream Job vacancies in the UK rose to a record high of 953,000 in the three-month period between May and July. This was 168,000 higher than their pre-pandemic level. The number of vacancies in sectors affected most by the easing of lockdown, such as hospitality, soared during the period. However, the number of people on furlough in these sectors remains high, suggesting labour market frictions. These frictions could be caused by multiple factors. Varied demand within sectors may mean some companies hiring while others continue to retain workers on furlough. Some

So far 2021 has seen COVID-19 cases surging, with lockdown restrictions once again tightened across Europe. The good news is that we now have vaccines. The bad news is that vaccine rollout is progressing slower than many had hoped. Refresh this chart in your browser | Edit the chart in Datastream In the UK, as in most countries, priority for vaccination is rightly being given to the clinically vulnerable and to the elderly. NHS data for England show that 99% of fatalities have come from this group. In other words, vaccinating a group that represents just 25% of the population could prevent almost

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced a new wave of lockdown measures in a bid to bring the spread of COVID-19 back under control. German health outcomes during the first wave were far better than those of the region’s other major economies, with the number of fatalities far below those seen in France, Italy and Spain (despite the Bundesrepublik having a much larger population). Likewise, Germany also fared better economically with GDP ‘only’ falling 12% below its pre-crisis level earlier this year, owing in part to an impressive fiscal response. Analysis of early activity indicators in other countries suggest that

UK GDP data rebounded strongly in Q3 2020, with quarter-on-quarter growth of 15.5%. This went most of the way to recovering the output lost in Q2 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both the slowdown in Q2 and the recovery in Q3 were consumption-driven. Private consumption made up 64% of UK GDP in Q4 2019, before the crisis, and the first national lockdown caused a collapse in retail sales as households were unable to go out to spend disposable income. With the easing of restrictions through the summer, private consumption rebounded, accounting for two thirds of growth in Q3.

Several European countries have implemented second lockdowns in response to a dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases. Over the past week Belgium, France, Germany and England have introduced national lockdowns. The restrictions are generally less severe than those imposed in the spring, with schools remaining open, and are time-limited to shut down sectors of the economy for four to six weeks. The impact of these measures on virus transmission and economic activity remains to been seen, though there are indications from early lockdown case studies. Refresh this chart in your browser | Edit the chart in Datastream GDP data for Q3 are now

Refresh this chart in your browser | Edit the chart in Datastream UK retail sales reported their fifth consecutive month-on-month growth in September, rising by a surprisingly large 1.5% from August. This represents a 4.7% increase from the same period last year, much higher than the 0.4% to 0.5% rise which had been forecast. The growth was fuelled, in part, by increased food sales as the number of people eating out fell back after the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme ended. Non-food stores have also seen their sales rise; they are currently 1.7% higher than they were in February. The pandemic

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced new measures to counter the spread of coronavirus. Starting on Friday, and lasting initially for three weeks, Israelis will not be allowed to travel more than 500m from their house (except to go to work), or to gather indoors in groups larger than ten. Schools will shut, but supermarkets and pharmacies will remain open. The measures make Israel the first country to impose a second national lockdown. With several European countries seeing an uptick in cases, could France, Spain or the UK be next? For now, leaders elsewhere do not appear to be in

Refresh this chart in your browser | Edit the chart in Datastream The Oxford University and Blavatnik School of Government’s stringency index measures the “strictness of ‘lockdown style’ policies that primarily restrict people’s behaviour” worldwide. It is made up of a variety of components such as school and workplace closings, restrictions on public events and gatherings and rules on transport into and around the country. The index is a good measure to compare a government’s relative effort to slow the spread of the virus. The index shows that New Zealand imposed some of the strictest lockdown measures in the early months of