GDP recovered to pre-pandemic levels in around half of UK sectors in November 2021

November 2021 finally saw many of the more COVID-19 sensitive sectors of the UK economy return to pre-pandemic levels of output. The chart shows an index of gross value added (the measure of output at sector-level, comparable to GDP) since December 2019, with the size of each sector indicated by the thickness of the line.

Even in November, a notable part of the recovery was due to the now sizeable health and social care sector (left-most panel in the chart). However, several commercial sectors — such as arts and entertainment, retail and wholesale, transport, construction, and even hospitality — recovered strongly in the last few months leading up to November 2021.

The same cannot be said for manufacturing, or some of the the large high-value-added sectors of the economy, including financial and information services. For the latter, let’s hope the apparent loss of momentum is a temporary phenomenon: these sectors are disproportionately important for the entire UK economy.