The US economy contracted at an annualized rate of 5 5 percent in the first quarter of 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic triggered an unprecedented economic collapse, according to data released by the Commerce Department on Thursday.
The gross domestic product (GDP) of EE. USA It fell at an annualized rate of 5 percent between January and March, according to the third quarterly estimate of economic growth published by the Office of Economic Analysis (BEA). The BEA previously estimated that first quarter GDP had fallen at an annualized rate of 5 percent. in a May screening and 4.8 percent in their April estimate.
The pandemic forced thousands of companies in the US. USA To severely close or restrict operations to curb the spread of COVID-19, pushing the unemployment rate to a record 14.7 percent and closing wide swaths of the US economy. USA
The fall in GDP in the first quarter was the strongest seen in the US. USA Since the Great Recession, but it only covered the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Economists expect GDP to have fallen at an annualized rate of up to 40 percent in the second quarter, which covered the depths of the recession.
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