GDP of the United States in 2020 stood at 3.5 %

The United States economy suffered a contraction of 3.5 % in 2020 compared to the previous year, when it had grown by 2.2 %, as a result of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions implemented to contain the spread of contagions.

This figure represents the largest drop in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) since 1946 and the first contraction since 2009, when activity fell by 2.5 % due to the financial crisis, according to the US Government’s Office of Economic Analysis (BEA).

The data communicated is the third estimate published by the Office, which has kept the decline in the economy unchanged with respect to the first and second estimates, known at the end of January and February, respectively.

During the fourth quarter of the year, GDP contracted 1.9 % compared to the same period in 2019, after a decrease of 2.6 % in the third quarter, 9 % in the second and an increase of 0 , 6 % in the first one.

In annualized terms, that is extrapolating the data for the quarter to the whole of the year, the North American country’s economy grew by 4.3 % between October and December. This figure represents an increase of two tenths with respect to the data published last month.

The annualized increase in the third quarter was 33.4 %, after a fall of 31.4 % in the second and a decrease of 5 % in the first.

The Office increased household consumption by one tenth during the fourth quarter, registering a fall of 2.2 % compared to the data for the same period in 2019.

K. Tovar

Source: dpa