The Business Cycle in Pictures

Using images to reinforce the different stages of the business cycle

The Business CycleIs like the changing seasons. Summer: Boom Flowers are blooming, people are happier (he linked this to business confidence), fewer leaves on the ground (low unemployment) Autumn: Recession Trees turn brown, more leaves on the ground (rising unemployment), nights become darker, moods change (lower confidence) Winter: Slump Lots of leaves on the ground (high unemployment), people are less happy (lower confidence) Spring: RecoveryGreen shoots!

A: The number of new housing starts begins to fall

B: There are more unfilled job vacancies

C: Increasing hours of overtime

D: Rising homelessness

H: Consumers hit by delays in product

delivery

K: Share prices hit by rise in number of company profit

warnings

E: Rising demand for steel

M: Rising real income

L: Rising lipstick sales

I: Home delivered pizza becomes more popular

J: Rising business class air revenues

G: Car plants decide to reduce the number of

shifts

F: Long-term unemployment

reaches new high

N. Government announces a fall in trade deficit due to

decline in imports

O: Supply of rented property exceeds demand

P: Brick manufacturers report a rise in unsold stocks Q: McDonald’s holds prices despite

rise in costs

T: The cost of shipping goods

around the world starts to rise

U: More building skips start appearing on the

streets

V: Sales of milk chocolate start to

decline

X: Oil refineries report a reduction in crude oil

stocks

Y: More companies attempt to introduce

wage freezes

W: Shops delivering lunchtime sandwiches

to offices raise their prices because of strong demand

R: Imports of sewing machines rise

S: Banks relax credit rules

Z: Rising government

spending

Quarterly value of real GDP

Tracking the UK Economic Cycle

Source: Reuters EcoWin

86 88 90 92 94 96 98 00 02 04 06 08 10 12

billio

ns

175

200

225

250

275

300

325

350

GB

P (

billio

ns)

175

200

225

250

275

300

325

350

Real GDP

TimeThe economic cycle in pictures

A B C D E F

G H I J K L

M N O P Q R

T U V W X Y Z

S