China Data Response PMIs (May) The PMIs show that the recovery in activity extended into last month and appears to have broadened out into parts of manufacturing that were previously struggling. But there are few signs of a marked... 1st June 2020 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Chart Pack Normal still a long way off As the lockdowns have largely come to an end in both countries, output is starting to recover. In New Zealand, most activity is now allowed to resume, though gatherings are limited to 100 people. In... 29th May 2020 · 10 mins read
Japan Data Response Labour Market, Ind. Production & Retail Sales (Apr.) The huge fall in industrial production and retail sales in April support our below-consensus forecast that the economy will contract by 12% q/q this quarter. The unemployment rate is also set to... 29th May 2020 · 4 mins read
US Employment Report Preview As bad as it gets? We estimate that non-farm payroll employment fell by 9 million in May, taking the cumulative decline since February close to 30 million and pushing the unemployment rate above 20%. 28th May 2020 · 3 mins read
Hours worked plunge to 25-year low The Labour Force Survey shows that the number of hours worked dropped by 28% between February and April. As the bulk of the hours lost have been in relatively low-productivity sectors, GDP should not... 26th May 2020 · 9 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly BoK to launch QE, labour market woes in Taiwan The Bank of Korea is likely to cut its policy rate to a record low of 0.5% and step up non-conventional support at its meeting on Thursday. Meanwhile, today’s labour market figures from Taiwan show... 22nd May 2020 · 6 mins read
China Economics Update The NPC delivers on policy stimulus We had anticipated that the National People’s Congress (NPC) would lay out plans for a further ramp up in policy support and it did not disappoint. The annual budget points to fiscal stimulus this... 22nd May 2020 · 3 mins read
UK Economics Update Furloughs prevent tsunami of layoffs, but second wave likely The government’s furlough scheme has prevented the UK economy from being engulfed by a tsunami-like first wave of unemployment. But a second wave will probably come once the reduction in the... 21st May 2020 · 3 mins read
UK Data Response Labour Market (Mar./Apr.) The headline labour market figures have not yet caught up with the fall in employment of between 500,000 and 1 million revealed in the timelier data for April. Given the shut down of so many... 19th May 2020 · 2 mins read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone GDP & Employment (Q1) The Q1 GDP data confirm that virus containment measures have caused much bigger declines in activity in some euro-zone countries than in others. Over the rest of the year, we think that there will be... 15th May 2020 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Labour market damage & renewed trade tensions The unemployment rate is unlikely to remain as low as 6.2%, as it was in April. Many of those who left the labour force last month will probably start to look for a job as the economy reopens. Even so... 15th May 2020 · 5 mins read
Europe Economics Update Five key questions about short-time work schemes Wage subsidy schemes in place throughout the euro-zone have so far been effective at preventing a surge in unemployment. In this Update, we answer five questions about how these schemes will evolve as... 14th May 2020 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update New Zealand - Jobs Budget should limit rise in unemployment rate The additional $16bn of spending in today’s Budget along with a relatively fast relaxation of the Covid-19 restrictions should reduce the number of job losses in New Zealand. Add in a sharp reduction... 14th May 2020 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia - Labour Market (Apr.) The small rise in the unemployment rate in April masks a sharp fall in employment and we still expect the unemployment rate to rise further over the coming months. 14th May 2020 · 2 mins read
US Economics Update Wage growth set for sharp slowdown Although employment should partially rebound once lockdown measures are lifted, the pandemic is still likely to result in a sustained increase in labour market slack, which will push wage growth... 13th May 2020 · 2 mins read
Japan Data Response Economy Watchers Survey (Apr.) The further fall in the Economy Watcher’s Survey (EWS) in April underlines that consumption will be extremely weak across Q2. But while all components fell to new depths, this should mark the trough... 13th May 2020 · 2 mins read
