Pretty grim news about the economy in April, namely that it dropped off a cliff, and shrank by 20%. Beats all known records for a one month movement. Hardly a surprise given that everyone was sent home in March and the country was put into lockdown mode. In some ways it's almost a surprise that the figure wasn't bigger given that there was pretty much no manufacturing, no retail, no travel, etc throughout the month. I guess it must show that the service industry was able to carry on working remotely, and presumably that essential services plus fundamental public services make up a really big chunk of the economy. Although, as with all of these things, I can't help wondering about how the measurement works. Does the fact that the government was paying millions of people's wages count towards economic output or not? Especially given that on the furlough scheme people were being paid to stay at home and do nothing?
The next question is what shape will this downturn be? Everyone is hoping for a V, but will it be a U, or a W, or worst of all, and L. Time will tell.