Central Bank tracks ATM withdrawals slump while job postings tumble amid Covid-19 lockdown
Spending on debit or credit cards surged in early March before plunging again as the Covid-19 lockdowns came into force, according to Central Bank research.
Spending activity on the cards initially climbed 22% — equivalent to 790,000 additional transactions — on March 12 as shoppers spent big on bulk purchases, following the Government announcement about closing schools.
However, with more social distancing measures enforced, the value on all types of cards and ATM withdrawals slid from March 16 when the lockdown and closures of businesses got under way.
In a “behind the data” research paper, Central Bank economists Andrew Hopkins and Martina Sherman found that the slump in spending and cash withdrawals continued into the first week of April, with card spending down by almost 30% and ATM withdrawals sliding 57%, compared to the first week of March.
If the current trends of spending and ATM withdrawals continue for the rest of April, the researchers estimate that card spending and cash withdrawals will be €2.6bn, or 40%, below levels of April 2019.
Separately, research by Central Bank of Ireland economist Reamonn Lydon and jobs site Indeed showed total job postings in Ireland were down by almost a third.
Employers in beauty and wellness, hospitality and tourism, and food preparation were among firms to pull jobs advertising, but supermarket jobs advertising posted a sharp rise of around 20% in the first half of March.
According to this study, not all countries were equally affected by the downturn in employment.
Job postings have generally fallen by 30% to 40% in countries with a higher number of people in occupations with lower “work from home potential”.
This includes Ireland, the UK, Portugal, Spain, Canada, and Australia, where 50% to 60% of workers do not have the facilities or potential to work from home.
