UK crashes into recession after economy shrinks by record amount
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) announced that due to the coronavirus crisis the economy contracted by 20.4 per cent between April and June.
Jonathan Athow, deputy national statistician at the ONS, said: ‘The recession brought on by the coronavirus pandemic has led to the biggest fall in quarterly GDP on record.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad‘The economy began to bounce back in June with shops reopening, factories beginning to ramp up production and housebuilding continuing to recover.
‘Despite this, GDP in June still remains a sixth below its level in February, before the virus struck.
‘Overall, productivity saw its largest-ever fall in the second quarter. Hospitality was worst hit, with productivity in that industry falling by three-quarters in recent months.’
A recession is defined as two successive quarters of decline in gross domestic product (GDP).
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe fall of 20.4 per cent between April and June followed a 2.2 contraction in the previous three months.
But monthly figures showed the economy bounced back by 8.7 per cent in June, following upwardly revised growth of 2.4 per cent in May, as lockdown restrictions eased.
A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron
Thank you for reading this story. The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on our advertisers and thus our revenues.
The News is more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism. You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news and information online.
Every subscription helps us continue providing trusted, local journalism and campaign on your behalf for our city.
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.