January Economic Review: Rising infections lead to renewed restrictions and slower growth – but we expect improvement soon
The recovery’s slowdown intensified in December as payrolls shrank for the first time since April and consumer confidence and spending each took a hit. On the other hand, bright spots included faster growth in both the manufacturing and (surprisingly) service sectors. Recent and likely future stimulus packages should help spending in the months to come, but it will ultimately take sufficient vaccinations for the recovery to take off again. See Nationwide Economics’ take on what's happening and why this month in the economy.