The US economy experienced the deepest decline in recorded history in the second quarter due to the effects of the spread of the new coronavirus. The US Department of Commerce said gross domestic product fell 32.9 percent year-on-year.
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The result is still slightly better than analysts expected. On average, they expected the economic downturn to reach about 34 percent. The decline is still the deepest at least since 1947, when these data began to be monitored in their current form.
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Due to the rapid spread of coronavirus, the US government decided at the end of March to significantly slow down economic activity. Many companies had to close, which affected, for example, hotels, restaurants, bars and other services. Tens of millions of people have found themselves out of work – services are the largest contributors to GDP in the United States.
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To date, the United States has experienced the deepest economic downturn in its postwar history in 1958, when Dwight Eisenhower was president. At that time, GDP fell by ten percent in the quarter, the AP agency noted.
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