The New York Times on the uneven recovery in retail, air travel and restaurants

There is little evidence in government data that the spread of the Delta variant has suppressed spending in retail stores.  But air travel, as measured by the number of people screened at airport security checkpoints, has tailed off in recent days after returning to about 80% of where it was during the same week in 2019.

Restaurant bookings on OpenTable, which had nearly returned to normal in June and July, are back down to 10% below their prepandemic level.  Data from Homebase, which provides time-management software to small businesses, shows a sharp decline in the number of hours worked at restaurants and entertainment venues.

~ Matt Phillips, "Biden's Challenge: A Wobbly Economy," The New York Times, September 1, 2021