US Economy Suffers Worst Fall in 74 Years because of Pandemic

The US gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 3.5% in 2020, the largest decrease since World War II, and the first annual decline since the Great Recession in 2007-2009.

All sectors of the US economy fell except for the government and the housing market. Consumer spending fell 3.9%, its worst performance since 1932.

Gregory Daco, the chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics in New York, said “We foresee record-breaking consumer spending growth in 2021 with households benefiting from a watered-down $1.2 trillion version of Biden’s rescue plan, vaccine diffusion gradually reaching two-thirds of Americans by July and employment accelerating this spring,”

The economy is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels in the second quarter of 2021.

Source: Inquirer