见微知著系列专题之六：消费困局的“盲点”？

Group 1: Service Consumption Recovery - Service consumption recovery is slower compared to goods consumption, with a per capita service consumption gap of 2,093 yuan (13.9%) compared to historical trends, while goods consumption gap is only 458 yuan (2.9%) and optional goods consumption gap is 450 yuan (6.2%) [3] - The increase in working hours has led to a reduction in leisure time, with average paid labor time increasing by 2 hours daily, resulting in a weekly average of 44.7 hours in 2023, which is 13.9 hours more than in 2018 [3][21] - The concentration of consumption during holidays is increasing, with holiday sales growth of 6.8% during the 2024 May Day holiday, compared to a mere 3.7% for the same month’s retail sales [26] Group 2: Supply Constraints in Service Consumption - Insufficient effective supply in the service sector is causing slower recovery compared to goods consumption, with service employment numbers falling 3.8% below historical trends in 2023 [4][35] - The core service prices have been rising since 2022, indicating tighter supply compared to core goods prices, which are recovering better [4][35] - The supply recovery in life services, particularly in education and entertainment, is lagging, with employment in these sectors down by 6% and 2.8% respectively compared to historical trends [5][40] Group 3: Causes of Supply Constraints - Weak entrepreneur confidence is a significant factor limiting service supply, with investment in life services not keeping pace with profit margins, as seen in the entertainment sector with a sales profit margin of only 1.1% [6][53] - The cost rates in life services are high, with education and resident services at 109.4% and 104.8% respectively, reflecting a 15% and 13% increase since 2019 [7][63] - The cash flow ratio for the entertainment sector has decreased to an average of 19.8% in 2023-2024, indicating increased cash flow pressure and limiting supply expansion willingness [7][63]