Consumer spending in the United States fell nearly 14 percent in April, the highest percentage in six decades, due to the measures imposed to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic, US Commerce Department data revealed on Friday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th May, 2020) Consumer spending in the United States fell nearly 14 percent in April, the highest percentage in six decades, due to the measures imposed to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic, US Commerce Department data revealed on Friday.
Consumer spending, measured by personal consumption data, fell 13.6 percent in April, data from the Commerce Department Bureau of Economic Analysis showed.
The decrease is the largest monthly contraction since 1959, when the Bureau began keeping records of consumer spending.
April's decline came after the 6.9 percent drop in personal consumption in March when the United States went into lockdown to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The US economy shrank 5 percent in the first three months of 2020 for the sharpest economic decline since the Great Recession of 2008.
All 50 US states have partially reopened their economies but some economists still warn of sharp recession by the second quarter, with more than 41 million Americans rendered jobless.
