Eurostat: the pandemic bows down household consumption, -8%. Hotels, restaurants, transport, fashion hit the hardest

In 2020, the EU household spending decreased by 8% from 2019. “This is the greatest yearly decrease ever reported since household spending has been measured”, Eurostat explains, “and it is a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The social distancing measures, the governmental restrictions on people’s mobility and nonessential businesses have seriously affected household spending”. The greatest reductions in household spending – as revealed by the survey issued earlier today by the statistics bureau of the European Commission – have been noticed in “Restaurants and Hotels” (-38% vs 2019), “Clothing and Footwear”, “Transport” and “Entertainment and Culture” (all -17%). The greatest rises have been reported, instead, in “Food and Soft Drinks” (+ 3%) and “Communication” (+ 2%). In 2020, over a quarter (26%) of household spending was made in “Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels”, which has thus become the EU’s greatest household item of expenditure, followed by “Food and Soft Drinks” (15%) and “Transport” (12%).
Valentina Bombelli