U.S. Economy Contracted at Record 33% Rate in Last Quarter
Gross Domestic Product in Q2 Sees Steepest Drop in More Than 70 Years
A cashier at a Stop & Shop in New York City
The U.S. economy contracted at a record rate in the second quarter of 2020, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
The agency said that the GDP, which is the value of all goods and services produced across the country’s economy, fell at a seasonally and inflation-adjusted rate of 32.9%, a 9.5% drop compared with the first quarter of the year.
Economic output fell at the fastest pace ever recorded amidst the coronavirus pandemic as businesses furloughed workers, closed their doors, and applied for assistance while millions of Americans remained in their homes for weeks at a time.
The plummeting numbers are unprecedented in modern times. A comparison in the United States is only possible when looking at the Great Depression, although modern economic statistics are not available for that period.
Meanwhile, the Deparatment of Labor reported that more workers applied for initial unemployment benefits for the second week in a row, after weeks during which the number declined.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
