Australian authorities report for the first time since the early 1990s that the country has formally sunk into recession.
Lockdowns and other constraints placed to curb COVID-19's pandemic spread have impacted certain parts of the economy, with hundreds of thousands of people losing their jobs.
Australia's treasurer says that this crisis is the worst downturn in decades in the country.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that in the second quarter of this year, GDP fell by seven percent. That was worse than the estimations that were predicted by many economists.
About every industry in Australia has been adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, from retail and hospitality to education, mining, and tourism. The outcome is the first recorded recession in approximately 30 years for Australia.
Officials say it will take time before it gets better. The second wave of infections in Victoria state, where strict lockdown measures have been reimposed, may delay recovery.
Australian finance minister Mathias Cormann said that If you see what was going from the end of June to early July, Australia was headed in the right direction, for sure. new jobs opportunities created across the country, and investments were also picking up in several areas of the economy before the epidemic spread that occurred in Victoria. What Australia needs is to keep staying on top of the Victoria epidemic and open up the market as soon as possible.
Australia survived the late 1990s Asian financial turmoil, and a decade after, the global credit crunch. A long mining boom, strong financial management, and good fortune all helped. Just before the coronavirus took effect, the Australian economy was faltering, partially because of drought and bushfires.
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