On the face of it this week looks to have been a very good one for the East Anglian economy.
Shoppers packed our high streets on Monday as non-essential retailers opened their doors for the first time in months.
And yesterday the Office for National Statistics announced that GDP had grown by 0.4% in February, following a 2.2% fall the month before.
But scratch beneath the surface and what do we see?
High streets are at the start of a long, hard uphill slog. After four months with the shutters down, one days taking are a plaster on a severed limb.
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The same is true for hospitality. Hamstrung as they are by social distancing and only being able to open outside, breaking even will be a good result for operators over the next few months.
The February GDP figures also fell short of the forecasts of some analysts. While the construction, production and manufacturing sectors all saw positive jumps, the economy as a whole remain eight points below where it was pre-pandemic.
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– Credit: Archant
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