UK falls into recession for first time in 11 years

New Delhi, Aug 12: The UK economy officially fell into recession for the first time in 11 years due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) slumped by 20.4 per cent in the second quarter following a dip of 2.2 per cent in the first three months of 2020, official figures showed.

This is the largest quarterly contraction in the UK on record.

The data also showed the world's sixth-biggest economy entered a recession as it shrank for a second quarter consecutively.

According to the Office for National Statistics, there were signs of a recovery in June alone when the GDP grew by 8.7 per cent from May.

"The recession brought on by the coronavirus pandemic has led to the biggest fall in quarterly GDP on record," Jonathan Athow of the Office for National Statistics said.

"The economy began to bounce back in June... Despite this, GDP in June still remains a sixth below its level in February, before the virus struck."

"Today's figures confirm that hard times are here," finance minister Rishi Sunak said. "Hundreds of thousands of people have already lost their jobs, and sadly in the coming months many more will."