Sept. 30 (UPI) -- The U.S. economy declined by a record 31.4% between April and July, the Commerce Department said in its decisive quarterly report Wednesday.
The department's third and final estimate of U.S. gross domestic product for the second quarter was slightly better than its previous estimate last month, which said the economy declined 31.7% in Q2.
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The upward revision is largely due to higher personal consumption expenditures, which partly offset lower export figures and declining nonresidential fixed investments.
The decline, almost entirely created by the COVID-19 pandemic, shattered the previous record fall for a three-month quarterly period -- a 10% decline in 1958. The domestic economy declined by about 5% in the first quarter of 2020.
Many analysts expect the third quarter to show a rebound and actual growth of GDP, which represents the total value of goods and services provided in the United States -- possibly as high as 30%. Such a figure would easily surpass the all-time quarterly growth record, 16.7% in 1950.
The Commerce Department will release its initial third-quarter estimate on Oct. 29.
COVID-19 pandemic alters life in New York City
Mannequins with face masks and designer clothing fill a window at a Diane Von Furstenberg store in New York City on September 8, 2020. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A woman wears a face mask while looking at clothing at Diane Von Furstenberg in New York City on September 8. The CFDA announced in June that New York Fashion Week shows will run for only three days in September due to the coronavirus pandemic. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A girl rides a scooter in Battery Park with a view of the Statue of Liberty in New York City on September 8. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Visitors wear face masks as they tour the Whitney Museum of American Art as it reopens on September 3 after being closed for over six months. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Artist Akheneten Komohetep III sells his art on the street outside the museum. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Sightseers begin to arrive on the Edge Outdoor Sky Deck observation platform at Hudson Yards in New York City on September 2. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Edge is the highest outdoor sky deck in the Western Hemisphere and reopened on September 2 to guests since being closed in May. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Visitors wear masks as they walk on the grounds of Hudson Yards in New York City on August 29. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Guests wear face masks as they tour the "Jacob Lawrence: The American Struggle" exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as the museum begins its reopening for members on August 27. It had been closed for nearly six months. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A man carries a child on his shoulders through The High Line park as it reopens to the public with limited capacity in New York City on July 16. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Neon yellow circles to guide social distancing mark the ground while people walk through The High Line park wearing face masks. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
The park reopens with a number of protocols that will be enforced to ensure that all visitors can maintain social distancing in accordance with city guidelines. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Pianist Kaliya Kalcheva performs on a Steinway & Sons piano in Grand Central Terminal in New York City on June 23 and New York City enters a new phase of reopening. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Visitors and commuters were welcomed back to Grand Central by pianists from The Juilliard School. The city is in phase two of a four-part reopening plan after being closed for three months due to COVID-19. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A stylist wears a protective face mask while giving a haircut to a client at Roman K. Salon Luxury Hair Salon when New York City on June 22. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Workers break down the street art painted, boarded up windows of a Jimmy Choo retail store in New York City on June 22. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
TD Bank customers wear protective face masks as they wait in line for hours to enter a Chinatown bank branch in New York City on May 28. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A young Black Lives Matter protester confronts an NYPD officer, both wearing face masks, in New York City. Protests continue in Minneapolis and in other cities over the death of George Floyd in custody of Minneapolis police. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A woman wears a protective face mask while walking on a sidewalk on the Upper West Side of Manhattan on May 27. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Moving trucks, workers and boxes dominate a street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A graduate wearing a protective face mask receives virtual hugs and kisses from loved ones on an Upper West Side sidewalk. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Morning fog partially hides the Manhattan skyline on May 26. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Gov. Andrew Cuomo rings the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange after being closed for two months on Wall Street. Photo by Darren McGee/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo/UPI | License Photo
An American flag is at half-mast for Memorial Day Weekend at Rye Playland Beach in New York City on May 24. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A visitor sits in a quiet section of the beach. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A digital sign says "ID + FACE MASK REQUIRED" as Westchester County Police greet people at Rye Playland Beach. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Visitors gather in Washington Square Park in New York City. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A woman wears a protective face mask in Washington Square Park. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Children wear protective face masks while chasing bubbles in Washington Square Park. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Popeye and other classic cartoons and movies are shown in the parking lot of Bel Aire Diner in New York City on May 21. Bel Aire Diner is putting on retro entertainment drive-in movie nights in their parking lot. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A transit worker wears a protective mask as he drives a M subway train across the Williamsburg Bridge on May 21. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Graduates celebrate on the steps to the library known as "Low Beach" after Columbia University holds a virtual commencement ceremony in New York City on May 20. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A demonstration of ultraviolet disinfecting technology takes place at the Corona Maintenance Facility in New York City on May 19. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced an ultraviolet light pilot program proven to kill COVID-19, with the first phase set to launch on subways, buses and other New York City Transit facilities early next week. Photo by Marc A. Hermann/MTA New York City Transit | License Photo
A woman wears a protective face mask as she exercises in the middle of a quiet Pell Street in the Chinatown section of New York City on May 19. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
People begin to form a line for free food distribution in Chinatown on May 19. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Officially designated social distancing circles are set up in Domino Park in New York City on May 17. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
The beaches at Coney Island remain mostly empty as a date to open the beaches has not been set yet in New York City. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on May 17 that New York City beaches will not be open for Memorial Day. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A woman and child fly a kite on Coney Island. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A woman wears a protective mask as she walks by Federal Hall near the New York Stock Exchange, which remains closed, on Wall Street in New York City on May 13. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Pedestrians walk by the statue of George Washington at Federal Hall on Wall Street. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Participants hold candles as nurses, elected officials and community members gather to commemorate the final day of Nurses Week with a vigil in Yonkers, N.Y., on May 12. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A participant of the vigil dressed as Supergirl listens to speakers. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
The vigil honored healthcare workers on the front lines of the pandemic, celebrated survivors, and mourned those who died. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A tribute to healthcare workers hangs outside the entrance of Lenox Health Greenwich Village emergency room in New York City on May 11. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Pedestrian and automobile traffic on Seventh Avenue remains scarce in New York City. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A woman wears a protective face mask as she jogs in Hoboken, N.J., with a view of the Empire State Building, Hudson Yards and the Manhattan skyline on May 10. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Kathy Ross of New Jersey waves to her her son who is onboard one of the vintage WWII aircraft as they fly over over the Hudson River as part of a celebration for the 75th anniversary of VE Day, which signaled the end of World War II on May 8. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
New York Police Department officers escort homeless and other people off the trains on May 6. For the first time in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's history, officials are halting regularly scheduled overnight service so trains can be disinfected. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Shoppers wait to enter a Costco Wholesale store on a line that extends for three long city blocks in New York City on May 5. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
The Statue of Liberty stands behind refrigeration trucks that are being used as part of a temporary morgue for those who died of coronavirus in New York City on May 5. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
People enjoy 70-degree temperatures on the Great Lawn in Central Park in New York City on May 3. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks at his daily coronavirus news conference in New York City. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
The USNS Comfort departs makes its way past the Statue of Liberty on the Hudson River as it departs New York City on April 30. The floating hospital arrived at the end of March to relieve pressure on hospitals overwhelmed with coronavirus patients. Its service is no longer needed. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
U.S. Navy Blue Angels fly in formation over One World Trade Center and the Manhattan skyline in New York City on April 28. A formation of Blue Angels and U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds honored first responders on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic by flying over New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A man walks along a stopped train as pedestrian traffic remains scarce at Grand Central Station Terminal in New York City on April 27. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Six-year-old ballet student Allegra Madison in her home follows the instruction of her ballet teacher via an online dance class delivered by the Third Street Music School in New York City on April 23. Since schools remain closed due to COVID-19 rehearsals and in-person music and dance lessons have been moved to the Internet. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A building across the East River from Manhattan known as the One South First (1S1) lights its windows in the shape of a heart for Earth Day amid the pandemic on April 22. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Four men applaud and make noise as they stand on the roof of a building in Manhattan for the 7 p.m. salute to medical staff and essential workers. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A woman and child wear protective face masks outside the New York Stock Exchange on April 20. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A pedestrian crosses Seventh Avenue in a near empty Times Square on April 19. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A couple holds hands wearing gloves as they walk together in Times Square. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Pedestrians wear protective face masks as they walk by a garden of tulips near the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox church on Easter Sunday of Orthodox Easter weekend on April 19. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Healthcare workers from NYU Langone hospital and pedestrians applaud for New York firefighters and police officers to show their gratitude to medical staff and essential workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic on April 17. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A healthcare worker consults with a patients who arrives to be tested for coronavirus in Yonkers, N.Y. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A man rides a bicycle on a quiet Brooklyn Bridge at the end of the day on April 15. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A backhoe is parked on Hart Island in New York City. For almost two centuries, the city has used Hart Island as a place where unclaimed bodies can be buried and laid to rest. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, burials there have increased. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A woman bangs a pot as a noisemaker to salute healthcare workers in New York City on April 14. Every evening at 7 p.m., residents open their windows to cheer them. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Paramedics and other emergency medical workers from around the country assemble for a meeting among ambulances at Fort Totten Park in Queens. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Healthcare workers from around the country assemble for a meeting. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A pedestrian wearing protective face mask crosses an intersection near Wyckoff Heights Medical Center on April 14. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
People wait in line for food wearing protective face masks while New York Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks to workers at The Campaign Against Hunger food pantry on April 14. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Church pews are empty of parishioners while Cardinal Timothy Dolan offers Easter Sunday Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
One World Trade Center is lit in in blue to honor hospital workers and first responders fighting COVID-19. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A healthcare worker takes a break outside the hospital on April 6. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Hila Revilla of Queens sobs as workers from the The Humane Society of New York take her 17-year-old dog Bambi to be euthanized on April 3. Revilla was not allowed inside the building and had to say her final goodbye on the 59th Street sidewalk. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Pedestrians walk by the Apollo Theater marquee in Harlem on April 3. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A woman walks a dog in Central Park where a field hospital is ready to take in sick patients on April 1. The tents are located along the East Meadow near Mount Sinai Hospital and are being used as an overflow medical center. They were erected in 48 hours by the non-profit charity Samaritan's Purse. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
The Empire State Building is lit in the red and white colors of the Red Cross intended to honor emergency workers on March 31. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A body wrapped in red fabric is rolled to a hearse by medical workers wearing protective masks, equipment and garments as protection from COVID-19 contamination at Brooklyn Hospital Center on March 31. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
The USNS Comfort Navy ship moves along the Hudson River and the Manhattan Skyline on route to dock on March 30. The floating hospital aims to relieve pressure on other facilities overwhelmed with coronavirus patients. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Newly erected hospital rooms are sectioned off with white curtains after Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks with the New York National Guard at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on March 27. The Javits Center is setting up to be turned into field hospitals to test and possibly treat cases of COVID-19. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Cuomo speaks with the New York National Guard at the convention center. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Pedestrians walk in an uncrowded Central Park on March 26. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A trader puts on his vest on an empty floor at the New York Stock Exchange after the closing bell on Wall Street on March 20. The NYSE moved temporarily to fully electronic trading on March 23 due to the pandemic. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Elevator buttons are covered in what appear to be cleaning agent in a Manhattan apartment building on March 18. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Workers in protective suits wait for the arrival of patients at New York state's first drive-through coronavirus mobile testing center at Glen Island Park in New Rochelle, N.Y., on March 13. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Purple ribbons hang outside the Young Israel of New Rochelle synagogue on March 10. A one-mile containment zone around New Rochelle in Westchester County was set up after early cases of the coronavirus were traced there. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
