Record economic plunge, bleak jobs numbers reveal virus toll
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER and PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writers
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy plunged by a record-shattering 32.9% annual rate last quarter, and the coronavirus is still cutting a path of destruction, forcing millions out of work and shuttering businesses. The economy’s stunning contraction in the April-June quarter came as the viral outbreak pushed already struggling businesses to close for a second time in many parts of the country, sending unemployment surging to nearly 15%. The government’s estimate Thursday of the second-quarter fall in the gross domestic product was the sharpest such drop on records dating to 1947.  So dizzying was the fall that most analysts expect the economy to sharply bounce back this quarter. Yet with coronavirus cases surging in many states, the economy could worsen in the months ahead.