Baker Tilly economic snapshot - April 2021 edition

President Biden managed to enshrine his $1.9bn economic stimulus plan into law and is now pushing for an even bigger infrastructure, education and childcare plan. The vaccination rollout is going well and the latest data from the U.S. Department of Labor said that jobless claims are at their lowest since the start of the pandemic. China’s National Bureau of Statistics showed industrial output higher than market consensus, but things are not going as well in Europe as vaccine rollout stutters. As a result, Germany has cut economic growth forecasts. Europe also stirred things up by threatening to ban vaccine exports outside the EU, but their problems were also exacerbated by The Serum Institute of India (the world’s biggest vaccine manufacturer) restricting their own vaccine exports due to rising case numbers. Data continues to show rising confidence in the UK from consumers, manufacturers and economists due to successful vaccine distribution.