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U.S. Economy Shrinks at 4.8% Pace, Signaling Start of Recession

  • Consumer spending declines at fastest pace since 1980
  • Current quarter expected to show a far worse contraction
Bloomberg business news
U.S. Economy Shrinks 4.8%, Signaling Start of Recession
Updated on

The record-long U.S. economic expansion is over after almost 11 years, with what’s likely to be the deepest recession in at least eight decades now under way.

The world’s largest economy shrank at a 4.8% annualized pace in the first quarter, the biggest slide since 2008 and the first contraction since 2014, as the need to fight the coronavirus forced businesses to close and consumers to stay home.