The United States economy shrank at a yearly rate of 32.9 percent between April and June of this year. It is the worst quarterly contraction in the economy ever recorded. The contraction came as the coronavirus pandemic pushed struggling businesses to close for a second time in many parts of the country. The closures have left millions of Americans out of work. The U.S. Commerce Department released the economic numbers Thursday. Its estimate of the contraction in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the worst since the government began keeping such records in 1947. The decrease comes after a 5 percent drop in economic activity during the first three months of the year. That is when the economy officially entered a recession, ending 11 years of growth, the longest on record in the country.
Title: US Economy Shrinks at Sharpest Rate Since Great Depression
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4397/C.wav' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='US Economy Shrinks at Sharpest Rate Since Great Depression' data-article-id='4929'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='14729'>The United States economy shrank at a yearly rate of 32.9 percent between April and June of this year. </span> <span data-start-time='14729' data-end-time='22313'>It is the worst quarterly contraction in the economy ever recorded.</span> <span data-start-time='22313' data-end-time='37104'>The contraction came as the coronavirus pandemic pushed struggling businesses to close for a second time in many parts of the country. </span> <span data-start-time='37104' data-end-time='43375'>The closures have left millions of Americans out of work.</span> <span data-start-time='43375' data-end-time='50625'>The U.S. Commerce Department released the economic numbers Thursday.</span> <span data-start-time='50625' data-end-time='63292'> Its estimate of the contraction in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the worst since the government began keeping such records in 1947.</span> <span data-start-time='63292' data-end-time='74083'>The decrease comes after a 5 percent drop in economic activity during the first three months of the year. </span> <span data-start-time='74083' data-end-time='86000'>That is when the economy officially entered a recession, ending 11 years of growth, the longest on record in the country.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4397/C.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=15559 data-hint-location='74083' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4397/what_is_a_recession.wav'>What is a recession?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='a period of temporary economic decline in two successive quarters'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4397/a_type_of_bank_account.wav'><span>a type of bank account</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4397/a_period_of_temporary_economic_decline_in_two_successive_quarters.wav'><span>a period of temporary economic decline in two successive quarters</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4397/a_period_of_rapid_economic_expansion_and_growth.wav'><span>a period of rapid economic expansion and growth</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4397/a_large_river.wav'><span>a large river</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=15560 data-hint-location='0' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4397/what_happened_to_the_us_economy_this_year.wav'>What happened to the U.S. economy this year?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='it shrank'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4397/it_shrank.wav'><span>it shrank</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4397/it_grew.wav'><span>it grew</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4397/it_stayed_the_same.wav'><span>it stayed the same</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4397/it_expanded.wav'><span>it expanded</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=15561 data-hint-location='37104' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4397/the_business_closures_have_left_millions_of_americans__blank_.wav'>The business closures have left millions of Americans <span class='blank'>out of work</span>.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='out of work'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4397/very_busy.wav'><span>very busy</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4397/out_of_work.wav'><span>out of work</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4397/extremely_happy.wav'><span>extremely happy</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4397/very_wealthy.wav'><span>very wealthy</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button 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