Aug 27

Aug 27 UK Economy Hit the hardest by COVID-19

The reports of the UK Economic status comes just weeks after The Office for National Statistics confirmed that the country has entered a recession.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirmed that the UK has returned to recession 11 years after recovery. Chancellor Rishi Sunak had already issued a warning that many more will stand to lose their jobs. The growing fear is that the worse is yet to come.

According to research, figures show the pandemic caused the economy to plunge to 20.4% between April and June. The Hospitality Industry ranked as the worst-hit compared to other sectors. The ONS considers this the largest recession in records due to the size of the fall. The Labour Party calls this a "tragedy for Britain" as the numbers showed nearly one million jobs had been lost during the lockdown.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development reported that the UK among major economies was the hardest hit by Covid-19.

In the 2009 recession, the first three months of the UK saw a 2.3% drop during the financial crisis. This year, the country had a 20.4% contraction. Among 37 OECD nations, this was the worst drop. Coming in second, Spain's decline was at 18.5%

In the same report, the G7 group of industrialised nations also suffered a drop of 10.9% and the eurozone suffered a 12.1% fall. The second-quarter GDP declined by 13.8% for France, 12.4% for Italy, 12% for Canada, and a 9.7% drop for Germany.

As Chancellor Sunak expressed, "this is a very difficult and uncertain time." He believes the UK economy suffered worse than its EU counterparts because its trade is focused on services, hospitality and consumer spending.

"I've said before that hard times were ahead, and today's figures confirm that hard times are here. Hundreds of thousands of people have already lost their jobs, and sadly in the coming months, many more will. But while there are difficult choices to be made ahead, we will get through this, and I can assure people that nobody will be left without hope or opportunity."