The Infometrics team deliver a Half Year Economic Scorecard, looking at how 2024 has gone so far, and what it might mean for the second half of the Year. Infometrics Chief Executive and Principal Economist Brad Olsen joins Principal Economist Nick Brunsdon and Principal Consultant Rob Heyes to update clients on the latest trends. Although headline economic activity at the start of 2024 appeared better than expected, with GDP showing a slight boost, more recent activity indicators look mixed. We’re hearing anecdotally, and starting to see through in the numbers, that spending and general economic confidence since April has been performing worse, and business surveys show increasingly difficult trading conditions. The labour market has softened, and is set to soften further, as job ads fall, employment levels out, and migration starts to pull back from record highs.