Is the UK in a recession, and are any other countries in a recession too?
The UK’s economy has suffered a great deal as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and ensuing lockdown.
It’s long been warned that we were heading for a recession, with the Bank of England previously warning that Covid-19 could result in the nation suffering its deepest depression in over 300 years.
Here’s a brief rundown of the current state of the economy, both in the UK and globally.
Is the UK in a recession?
Yes, on Wednesday August 12, it was announced that the UK is officially in a recession.
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It’s the first recession for 11 years and, with the economy shrinking 20.4% from April to June when compared with the first three months of the year, it’s the deepest recession on record.
Jonathan Athow, deputy national statistician 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.
He added: ‘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.’
Are any other countries in a recession?
With the pandemic having caused nationwide lockdowns all over the world, the Covid-19 recession is being spoken of on a global scale because of how many countries are also experiencing a significant economic downturn.
International Monetary Fund predicted in April that ‘global economy is projected to contract sharply by –3 percent in 2020, much worse than during the 2008–09 financial crisis.’.
Indeed, the global stock market started to crash back in February – before the UK’s lockdown was implemented.
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