A new report from the US Commerce Department released some grim news about the economy on Thursday.<br />According to Business Insider, personal consumption expenditures fell 7.5% in March. Personal incomes also dropped by 2%.<br />Accounting for roughly 70% of US gross domestic product, the plunge in spending is the largest drop on record.<br />The report reflects the effects of major lockdowns that swept across the US in March to slow the spread of COVID-19.<br />In just six weeks, 30 million Americans have filed for unemployment insurance. Roughly 10 million of those filings took place in March.<br />Overall, the US economy shrunk by 4.8% in the first quarter of 2020.
