A recent report by Ernst & Young has shown the importance of beer consumption, both as an indicator and as a principal dynamic to the economy. Commissioned by Brewers of Europe, a beer industry trade group, the study highlighted several key points which will help justify why you should be having a pint or two tonight.

While almost three-quarters of the jobs associated with beer consumption have nothing to do with breweries, there are tons of other jobs that are linked to the all the malt and hops. Think about all those jobs in restaurants, hotels and bars, all these jobs in these related industries support jobs in other industries. All of a sudden, you get a sense of how tugging on one string unravels everything else, and not just beer, but every industry. Unfortunately, the economic downturn has precipitated a decline in beer consumption. Remaining consumption has to a large extent shifted to in-home, which means corollary job losses in industries closely tied to away-from-home beer consumption.

The ripple effects don’t stop there. People who are unemployed don’t pay taxes and collect benefits. Governments wind up footing the bill while taking in less income. If this double whammy is serious enough, which it has been during this downturn, governments are forced to cut spending through layoffs, which further reduces beer consumption. It’s a vicious cycle that feeds on itself. Something worth toying over a pint…