-
Italian service sector activity falls at unparalleled pace in April
The Italian service sector continued to contract during April, as the economic fallout from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) virus intensified. Business activity and new business both declined at the sharpest rates in more than 22 years of data collection, with panellists linking the falls to lockdown measures and muted client demand stemming from the pandemic. Workforce numbers continued to decline, with the rate of job shedding accelerating to the most marked on record. Meanwhile, expectations with regards to output remained negative, although sentiment picked up slightly from March's nadir. The headline ... (full story)