Never before has the country experienced such an economic downturn. Like its European neighbors, the United Kingdom saw its economy contract by a “record” 20.4% in the second quarter, hit by the coronavirus crisis. Officially facing its worst recession on record, the island saw its production plummet by 20% in April when containment led to an almost total shutdown of activity.
With a very early recovery in construction and manufacturing activity, gross domestic product (GDP) rebounded in May by 2.4% (revised figure), followed by an acceleration in June (+8.7%) thanks in particular to the reopening of all businesses, according to the ONS, the National Statistics Office.
“Difficult times” Facing the United Kingdom
The historical depth of this recession reflects the “restrictions” on travel and activity that have taken place since containment came into effect in the country on March 23.
The statistics agency notes that over the two-quarters of the recession, the UK economy contracted by 22.1%, “slightly less than the 22.7% seen in Spain but more than double the 10.6% fall in GDP in the United States” over the same period. For ONS, this “larger contraction” in the UK than in most European countries reflects the longer duration of containment measures.
“I have said before that we are facing difficult times, and today’s figures confirm that. Hundreds of thousands of people have already lost their jobs, and unfortunately in the coming months many more will do the same,” commented Finance Minister Rishi Sunak.
The UK had the worst second-quarter performance in Europe, ahead of Spain (-18.5%) and much worse than France (-13.8%) and Italy (-12.4%).
“This is the biggest decline in GDP ever recorded (in the United Kingdom),” says Jonathan Athow of ONS. Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, does not try to embellish things: “I said in the past that hard times were coming and these figures confirm that those hard times are now here. »
Source: 20 Minutes
