The US economy contracted by the most in postwar history in the second quarter as unprecedented shutdowns closed businesses and left millions of Americans out of work during the pandemic.
Gross domestic product, or the value of all goods and services produced by the economy, shrank at an annualised rate of 32.9 per cent, according to a preliminary estimate from the Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday.
That was smaller than economists’ forecast for a 34.1 per cent decline. The economy contracted 9.5 per cent compared with the preceding three months, which is the metric used by other major economies. The data landed just a day before the expiry of supplemental jobless aid for the total 17m unemployed.