FX.co ★ US economy posts worst annual slump since 1946

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) published rather disappointing data for the previous year. According to the report, the US economy has not seen such losses since the deep recession after the Second World War. Economists logged a negative result for the first time in 12 years. It was the largest slump since 1946. Then, the country’s GDP tumbled by 11.6% and in 2020, the economy contracted by 3.5% or $506 billion. The virus-induced crisis has left millions of US citizens unemployed and has pushed the economy to the levels logged in summer 2018.

However, even under such difficult conditions, the US authorities have been trying to support businesses and ordinary people. Extremely large packages of financial aid have helped US families to go through such dark times. The estimates of independent experts showed that consumers saved significant sums of money thanks to the coordinated actions of the US government. Moreover, despite unemployment, consumer demand climbed by 2.5% on a yearly basis in the fourth quarter of 2020.

President Biden’s administration has proposed a $1.9 trillion economic relief package. The best part of this sum will be given to citizens in the form of helicopter money. Only after that, the funds will go into the country’s economy. Direct payments of $2,000 will be added to the monthly payment of $1,600 that is a part of the unemployment relief program.