It is an undeniable truth that the coronavirus pandemic has proved to be the global emergency of the 21st century. Be it people or businesses or countries, COVID-19 has spared none. The world’s greatest economies have tanked since the outbreak, with many countries now entering the “technical recession.”
Joining the list is Australia, which suffered a significant economic contraction in June 2020 and declared itself to enter the recession after that.
The data released by the Australian government on September 2, 2020, revealed that with a record dip of 7%, June became the worst-performing quarter in the history of the Australian economy since 1959 and second-worst after the Great Depression in 1930 when it crashed to 9.5%.
Shortly after the data is released, the government officials reacted to it. Josh Frydenberg, Treasurer in the Australian government, seemed very upset with this undesirable economic trend, saying it marks the end of the country’s record success at the economic front that lasted 28 years.
The nation witnessed its first economic contraction in Q1 2020 when it fell to 0.3%. Significant economic contractions in March and June are a clear indication of the technical recession looming over the country. Scott Morrison, Prime Minister of Australia, echoed the remarks of Frydenberg at the Parliament.
The news of Australia facing a recession is no good for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Among other OECD members, Great Britain, France, and the U.S. are already going through an economic crisis. The average economic contraction for the OECD countries stood at 9.8 percent in Q2 2020, though.
However, with global markets opening gradually and economies trying to rebound, there is a ray of hope that the situation will improve soon, and the sun will rise again.
