The Business Cycle in Pictures Using images to reinforce the different stages of the business cycle

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