Australia witnesses first recession in nearly 30 years as GDP falls by most on record

Official figures on September 3 revealed that Australia has officially entered its first recession after nearly thirty years. The June quarter Gross Domestic Product number dipped 7 percent, which is seen as the worst fall on record. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the latest figure follows a fall of 0.3% in the March quarter this year. The reason cited behind this fall is, lockdown driven shut down of the private sector. Head of National Accounts at the Australian Bureau of Statics, Michael Smedes said the reason behind this fall is global pandemic and containment policies invoked to curb virus. Australia was the only major world economy to avoid recession during the 2008 global financial crisis. At that time China’s demand for Australia’s natural resources helped the Australian economy.

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According to a report by the Australian Bureau of Statics, the number of recipients of additional support payment increased and social assistance benefits in cash rose to a record of 41.6%. Spending on services dropped 17.6% after a decrease in transport services, operation of vehicles and hotels, cafes, and restaurants. Commenting on this fall Smedes said, June quarter witnessed a significant fall in household spending on service as households alerted their behavior and restrictions were put in place to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

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Coronavirus cases in Australia

Last month the Australian state of Victoria imposed a lockdown to curb the spread of the contagious virus. The death rate in Australia is low as compare to other countries. Currently, the world's smallest continent has reported more than 25,000 cases and there are more than 600 deaths because of COVID-19. On August 31, Australia reported fewer than 100 new coronavirus cases,  the lowest number in two months as authorities appeared to bring outbreak in the country under control.

(Image credit-AP)

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