The latest national accounts showed the economy shrank 7% in June, the biggest contraction since records began in 1959.
Its nearest rival was a 2% fall in June 1974, though economists estimate a sharper fall in the early 1930s when Australian became one of the countries hardest hit by the Great Depression.
Today’s National Accounts confirm the devastating blow to our economy from #COVID19.
Our Government’s plan for the recovery is seeing hundreds of thousands of Australians getting back to work & thousands of businesses reopening their doors.
There is hope & there is a road out. pic.twitter.com/IOnjXA4nde— Josh Frydenberg (@JoshFrydenberg) September 2, 2020
Combined with a smaller 0.3% drop in the March quarter, the definition of a technical recession – two consecutive quarters of contraction – has been fulfilled.
Treasurer of Australia Josh Frydenberg said: “Today’s national accounts confirm the devastating impact on the Australian economy from Covid-19.”
“Our record run of 28 consecutive years of economic growth has now officially come to an end.”
The country’s prime minister Scott Morrison told parliament: “This is a devastating day for Australia.”
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development figures show the average contraction among OECD countries in the June quarter was 9.8%, including a 20% slump in the UK, a 14% downturn in France and a 9.1% drop in the US.
