Lockdown dealt a heavy blow to many sectors since March last year. The shutdown of the hospitality and services sectors alone was one of the heaviest hits. Consumer spending data suggests significant pent-up consumer demand which will be unlocked once restrictions are eased. Lockdown dealt a €2bn hit to construction output in 2020 – report…
Tag Archives: lockdown
93% of Irish employees surveyed by recruiter Robert Walters said they would like more opportunities to work from home when normal working patterns resume. Around one in ten said they would like to work from home permanently. The recruitment company gauged the opinions of management and staff in over 2,200 companies worldwide for this survey. …
Over 80% of Irish employees want to continue to spend at least part of their week working from home when normal life resumes after the coronavirus pandemic, a survey shows. Like much of Europe, most workers here were forced to work from home when the economy went into lockdown in March. The Government’s advice remains…
Consumers in the euro zone returned en masse to shops in May as lockdowns were eased, estimates from the EU statistics agency showed today, signalling a sharp recovery of sales after record drops in March and April. Sales in the 19 countries sharing the euro zone rose by 17.8% in May from April, Eurostat said,…
Hairdressers, barbers, spas, chiropractors and dentists were among the big beneficiaries of the Phase 3 reopening of the economy yesterday, according to transaction data from Revolut. Pubs and restaurants also got a boost from the restart of business, although to a lesser extent than the other big winners. Excluding online shopping, overall spending yesterday by…
The downturn in euro zone manufacturing was not as bad as initially thought last month after more economies in the bloc eased restrictions imposed to quell the spread of the coronavirus. Over 10 million people have been infected by the virus globally and more than 500,000 have died. This lead governments to impose lockdowns and force…
The manufacturing sector returned to growth in June after recovering almost all of the sudden deterioration seen following the coronavirus-related shutdown of most of the economy in March, a survey showed today. The economy here has opened more gradually than much of Europe with large parts of the services sector including hotels, restaurants, hairdressers and…
Consumer sentiment improved in June for the second month in a row, but remains well below levels recorded before the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, a survey showed today. The KBC Bank consumer sentiment index climbed to 61.6 in June from 52.3 in May, but remains some distance from February’s pre-pandemic reading of 85.2. In…
An air cargo boom driven by demand for protective gear against the coronavirus has peaked. Rates, while still 50% above normal levels, are falling in a worrying trend for airlines relying on freight revenue in the absence of passengers. Declining prices may deal a blow to carriers that are scrambling to move cargo to offset…
Seasonally adjusted exports decreased by 32% to €11.613 billion in April from March, according to preliminary figures from the Central Statistics Office, as Covid-19 shutdowns hit the trade sector. This marked the biggest one month contraction on record. The CSO said that seasonally adjusted goods imports decreased by 11% to €5.834 billion. This resulted in…