Britain has officially entered into a recession, according to new figures published on Wednesday. The recession is its deepest since the start of record-keeping and deeper than any other major economy.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS), the UK’s official statistics agency, said that GDP decreased 20.4% in the second quarter of 2020.
PRODUCTIVITY SAW ITS LARGEST-EVER FALL IN THE SECOND QUARTER
Jonathan Athow, the deputy statistician for economic statistics at the ONS, said: “The recession brought on by the coronavirus pandemic has led to the biggest fall in quarterly GDP on record. 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.”
Official data released earlier this week showed that 730,000 people lost their jobs since the coronavirus lockdown started.
The Bank of England has forecast that unemployment, currently at 3.9%, will reach 7.5% by the end of the year as government support schemes set up at the start of the lockdown are withdrawn.