In the USA, as elsewhere, the paralysis of activity caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the production of statistics, which have become harder to interpret. The rebound in hourly wages in April indicated by the “pulse” is a false signal and should be treated with caution: it can be explained by the collapse in hours worked, against which wages always show a certain inertia. Not only is the information gathered from companies incomplete, but there may well have been a lag between the shutdown of businesses and the stopping of wages. In reality, the explosive growth in unemployment (14.7% of the active population in April, 36 million benefit claims since mid-March) will exert downward pressure on wages. In general terms, the barometer of US economic activity is starting to show contractions at historically high levels, such as those in non-farm employment (more than 20 million jobs lost in April) or private consumption. There will be more to come.
QUARTERLY CHANGES 
