U.S. economy shrank at 4.8% annual rate in Q1

WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. economy shrank at a 4.8% annual rate last quarter as the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the country.

The Commerce Department says the gross domestic product, the total output of goods and services, posted a quarterly drop for the first time in six years. And it was the sharpest fall since the economy shrank at an 8.4% annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2008 in the depths of the Great Recession.

Forecasters expect the numbers will be far worse in the current quarter. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that GDP will plunge at a 40% annual rate this quarter.