The UK economy suffered worse than any other major European nation during the coronavirus lockdowns, posting a 20.4% contraction in the second quarter that will raise more questions over the government’s handling of the pandemic. The record slump, after a 2.2% drop in the first three months of the year, also outstripped the US downturn and officially pushed Britain into its first recession since 2009. It follows a report Tuesday that showed hundreds of thousands of people have lost their jobs. The drop in GDP exceeded the 18.5% recorded in Spain, the worst-performing country in the European Union. Data Tuesday showed the number of employees on payrolls is already down around 730 000 compared with March.

Source: News 24 August 12, 2020 06:00 UTC