UK officially in recession for first time in 11 years

The country has been tipped into the largest recession on record (Picture: AP)

The UK has officially plunged into the largest recession on record after the coronavirus crisis triggered a dramatic slump.

The nation was declared in recession for the first time in 11 years after the economy shrank 20.4% from April to June when compared with the first three months of the year.

This follows a fall of 2.2% from January to March, The Office For National Statistics said this morning.

A recession is defined as two successive quarters of decline in gross domestic product (GDP) – a measure of the size of the economy.

Such a slump has not been seen in the UK since 2008 and 2009 during the global financial crisis.

The economy – most notably in England – was given a boost in June when lockdown measures were eased.

However, this was not nearly enough to recover from the nosedive earlier in the year, statisticians said on Wednesday.

Latest GDP estimates for June show that the UK economy is now 17.2% smaller than it was in February before the pandemic struck.

A woman wearing a face-covering talks on her phone outside a shop following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Liverpool, Britain, August 10, 2020 (Picture: REUTERS)

A sign is seen in the window of a shop explaining to customers that it has temporarily closed due to the coronavirus outbreak in Portobello Market in west London (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

Jonathan Athow, deputy national statistician at the ONS, said: ‘The recession brought on by the coronavirus pandemic has led to the biggest fall in quarterly GDP on record.

‘The economy began to bounce back in June with shops reopening, factories beginning to ramp up production and housebuilding continuing to recover.

‘Despite this, GDP in June still remains a sixth below its level in February, before the virus struck.

‘Overall, productivity saw its largest-ever fall in the second quarter. Hospitality was worst hit, with productivity in that industry falling by three-quarters in recent months.’

It comes after ONS data revealed 730,000 UK workers lost their jobs between March and July, after hundreds of companies were battered by the pandemic.

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