Sydney, September 2: Australia has slipped into its worst recession in 30 years amid the coronavirus pandemic. June quarter GDP numbers show that the economy has slumped by 7 percent, the worst fall on record and a second straight contraction. On an annual basis, the economy shrunk by 6.3 per cent, as confirmed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The data further confirmed a technical recession for the first time since mid-1991, following a 0.3 per cent decline in gross domestic product during the March quarter. According to a Daily Mail report, this is even the worse quarterly decline in GDP since than 1930s Great Depression. UK Slips to First Technical Recession As Economy Shrinks 20.4% in Q2 Amid COVID-19 Induced Lockdown.

Australia Enters Recession After 3 decades:

The Reserve Bank forecasted Australia's jobless rate rising from a 22-year-high 7.5 per cent in July to ten per cent by the end of 2020 - a level unseen since April 1994. Until now Australia had held the record for avoiding recession, but coronavirus policies and border closures severely impacted the economy of the country.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 02, 2020 07:28 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).