Asia Pacific’s rapid containment of the initial COVID-19 outbreak, along with a series of fast fiscal stimulus actions, facilitated the economic recovery in Asia Pacific earlier than other regions in the world. By the first quarter of 2021, major Asia Pacific economies, particularly China, South Korea, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong, had fully recovered to, or exceeded, their pre-pandemic GDP levels (see chart, page 24). By April or May 2021, all major Asia Pacific economies were exporting more than they did before the pandemic.

Asia Pacific’s success occurred ahead of North America and Europe, even without the faster rollout of vaccines achieved in developed countries in these two regions. Japanese exports also exceed the pre-pandemic level, although the overall economic recovery in the country has been slower than anticipated, partly due to COVID-19 resurgences and a slow vaccine rollout. The Japanese labour market, however, which is the indicator most closely tied