The worst quarterly economic contraction on record was marginally less bad than first thought, coming in at an annualized 31.4 percent drop for the second quarter of the year.
The third and final estimate from the Bureau of Economic Analysis was an upward revision of 0.3 points from the second estimate, which itself was an upward revision from the 32.9 percent put forth in July’s advance estimate. The economy shrank an annualized 5 percent in the first quarter.
Still, the economic contraction that stemmed from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was over triple the worst quarterly contraction on record, which dates back to 1958. Stay-at-home orders, social distancing measures and fear of contracting the virus dramatically scaled back economic activity.
Economists expect that the third quarter will be met with its own record-breaking surge, as large swaths of the economy reopened and the government poured trillions of dollars of emergency relief and stimulus into homes and businesses.
That figure will be released on Oct. 29, just five days before November’s elections.
But the increase is not expected to put the economy back on its pre-COVID footing, a process which is expected to take years.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
