The global economy recovers, but it needs time

As the COVID-19 vaccination continues and patients are recovering from long-lasting symptoms, it’s evident that the global economy starts rebounding.

Remarkably, $26 trillion worth of crisis support and the arrival of vaccines have fueled a faster recovery than many anticipated. However, the destruction of jobs, widening inequalities among races, genders, generations, and geographies will leave lasting scars, especially in the poorest nations.

The slump in gross domestic product last year was the biggest since the Great Depression. Moreover, the International Labour Organization prognosticates it cost the equivalent of 255 million people full-time jobs. Additionally, researchers at the Pew Research Centre reckon the global middle class shrank for the first time since the 1990s.

According to the World Bank’s chief economist, getting back to pre-corona standard will take time. He also added that the aftermath of coronavirus isn’t going to reverse for a lot of countries.

China’s economy is still not as powerful as previously

The Asian giant, China, has recorded its fastest annual economic growth on record, its latest GDP figures have revealed.

China’s economy expanded 0.6% in the March quarter after gaining 3.2% in the December quarter.

Remarkably, GDP grew at a record 18.3% annualized rate in the March quarter compared to a year ago when the world came to a standstill due to coronavirus.

Additionally, Chinese citizens have been hitting the shops. Retail sales increased at an annual rate of 34.2%. Creating new jobs led to the unemployment rate dropping from 5.5% to 5.3%.

Moreover, Ryan Felsman, CommSec senior economist announced the Chinese economy has rebounded sharply since the world was plunged into the deepest economic slump in decades.

He added that China is the only major economy to record positive annual GDP growth in 2020 (up 2.3%).

However, according to Felsman, China’s economy is still not as powerful as it was before. He says that it was still the weakest growth rate in 44 years, reflecting the impact of government coronavirus restrictions.