UK economy: Retail footfall grows but job vacancies flatline
The UK economy has continued its mixed recovery, with the number of Britons venturing out to the shops rising again but online job adverts staying flat for the third week in a row.
Some areas remained in much worse shape than others, with 51 per cent of workers in the art and entertainment sector furloughed, up from 46 per cent two weeks earlier.
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It comes as the UK economy gradually returns to health after the body-blow it sustained from the coronavirus lockdown in the second quarter, when output crashed by 20.3 per cent.
Since then, however, there have been signs of a relatively rapid recovery. Retail sales grew by more than expected in July and the private sector expanded quickly in August.
Retail footfall rose in the week ended 23 August to around 70 per cent of the level seen in the same period in 2019, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said today.
“This continues the gradual increase in footfall seen since the reopening of non-essential shops and businesses in England on 15 June,” the ONS said.
The number of people visiting retail parks has grown the most since the lockdown was eased, hitting 90 per cent last week. However, the number of visitors to high streets stayed roughly flat at around 60 per cent.
Job vacancies flatline amid mixed economic recovery
The situation was gloomier in the jobs market. Total online job adverts remained at just over half of the 2019 average for the third week in a row. Meanwhile, 13 per cent of the UK workforce was furloughed.
The art, entertainment, and recreation sector was in a dire state, with 51 per cent of workers furloughed in the two weeks to 9 August. That was up on the previous two weeks.
Accommodation and food services companies had furloughed 26.6 per cent of workers, the second-highest total. That was down from 31.1 per cent two weeks earlier, however.
Although the number of online job listings flatlined, there were signs of battered sectors recovering slightly.
Travel and tourism job listings on Adzuna, the website the ONS analyses, rose to 81.3 per cent of their 2019 average. That was up from 52.2 per cent a month earlier.
Catering and hospitality job postings rose to 37.4 per cent of the 2019 average, up from 27.6 per cent a month ago.
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Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, said: “We can see an ‘eat out to help out’ boost in today’s numbers.
“The scheme has bolstered the recovery of the catering and hospitality sector… adding to the steady gains in job ads made since June.”