US economy shrinks by 4.8% as businesses shut down due to coronavirus

It was the sharpest fall since the economy shrank at an 8.4% annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2008.

The US economy shrank by 4.8% in the last quarter as the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the country and began triggering a recession that will end the longest expansion on record.

The Commerce Department estimated on Wednesday that GDP, the total output of goods and services, posted a quarterly drop for the first time in six years.