US hit by worst economic pain since the war as Covid cripples business and sends unemployment soaring
The US economy has suffered its worst year since the aftermath of the Second World War as the Covid-19 pandemic hammered business and forced millions of Americans out of work.
In a bleak update that underlined the scale of the job facing President Biden, the Commerce Department said output fell 3.5 per cent last year.
That was the worst performance since 1946 and the first annual decline in gross domestic product in the US since the Great Recession of 2007-09.
In a bleak update that underlined the scale of the job facing President Biden (pictured), the Commerce Department said output fell 3.5 per cent last year
The figures came on another day of turmoil on global stock markets as fears over prolonged lockdowns and the roll-out of vaccines took their toll.
Although 2020 saw the worst performance for the US economy for 74 years, others have suffered even more.
Britain is seen to have endured the biggest slump among the G7 nations, with output down 10 per cent.
Elsewhere in the G7, output is forecast to have fallen by 9.2 per cent in Italy, 9 per cent in France, 5.5 per cent in Canada, 5.4 per cent in Germany and 5.1 per centin Japan.
Worryingly for Biden, the economy slowed sharply in the final three months of 2020 having bounced back strongly in the previous quarter.
The president has unveiled a recovery plan worth £1.4 trillion, and could use the GDP report to lean on some lawmakers who have baulked at the price tag.
In the fourth quarter, GDP increased at a 4 per cent annualised rate as the virus and lack of another spending package curtailed consumer spending, and partially overshadowed robust manufacturing and the housing market.
With the virus not yet under control, economists are expecting growth to slow further in the first quarter of 2021.