This extends South Africa’s recession for yet another quarter, as the economy continues to battle the Covid-19 pandemic and growing unemployment.

Statistics South Africa announced on Tuesday morning that the South African economy contracted for yet another quarter, this time by 51%. 
The record plunge was due to the “impact of the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions since the end of March 2020”. 
This extends South Africa’s recession for yet another quarter, as the economy continues to battle the Covid-19 pandemic and growing unemployment.
The second quarter of the year includes the months April, May and June, when the country’s strictest lockdown measures were in place. 
South Africa entered its second recession of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration in the second half of 2019. The data released by Stats SA on Tuesday means that GDP as now fallen for four successive quarters. 
Following the release of the first quarter GDP figures in July, which showed South Africa’s economy contracted 2%, Treasury said it expected SA’s GDP to contract by a record 7.2% for the year. 
Ahead of the release of the latest GDP data on Tuesday, the economic consensus for a contraction of over 40%, with some economists warning of a plunge of up to 50%.