사상최악 충격 성적표 받은 세계경제... 3분기 회복도 '불안'
As countries around the world grapple against the COVID-19 pandemic,... the virus has triggered the worst economic records to the world's major economies including the U.S. and Germany.
The American economy suffered its worst period ever in the second quarter, with GDP falling almost 33 percent.
Kim Hyo-sun reports.
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken an unprecedented toll on the world economy,... with the gross domestic products of the U.S. and Germany recording their steepest declines in history.
According to statistics released by the U.S. Commerce Department on Thursday,... the country's economy shrank at a 32-point-9 percent annual rate during the second quarter.
This is the largest quarterly decline since such figures were first documented in 1947.
The plunge was far greater than the ten percent and 8-point-4 percent decline during the second quarter of 1958 and fourth quarter of 2008, respectively.
The number of unemployment claims in the country also rose for a second straight week,...totaling to 1-point-4 million as of Thursday.
Pundits forecast the economic recovery to be bumpy and uneven until a vaccine is developed.
Such news comes as Europe's largest economy, that of Germany, also recorded its largest decline since 1970.
During the April to June period,... its economy shrunk by 10-point-1 percent on-quarter,... as exports and business investment collapsed.
"The GDP numbers for the second quarter of 2020 are worse than expected, but to be honest we did not expect an economic beauty contest anyway. The only thing for now is to leave this second quarter behind us and to move forward. It is up to the fiscal and economic policies to set the right measures in place. What we have seen until now is not enough, it is not powerful enough. We need a good economic policy."
The plunge far exceeded the previous worst-ever recorded performance, a fall of 4-point-7 percent in the first quarter of 2009 during the global financial crisis.
Experts around the world are looking for signs of recovery during the third quarter,... while they believe the rise in the unemployed and limited consumption will impact the speed of an economic recovery.
Kim Hyo-sun, Arirang News.
