Washington, July 18 (TIWN) US GDP is expected to contract by an annualized rate of 37 per cent in the second quarter and by 6.6 per cent for 2020 as a whole, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff said on Friday.

The longest economic expansion in US history has been derailed by the unanticipated advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the poorest households facing “particularly precarious prospects”, according to the concluding statement, which describes the preliminary findings of IMF staff at the end of an official staff visit, reports Xinhua news agency.

“The economic costs of the crisis are being borne disproportionately by the poor and vulnerable, bringing into stark relief deep inequities that have long afflicted the US,” the IMF staff said on Friday.

“The pandemic has also underscored some of the structural shortcomings of the U.S. health system whereby the provision of healthcare is fragmented, decentralized, predominantly employer-based, at high cost, and with a significant share of low-income households lacking coverage.”

The nature of the pandemic has created particularly large strains for labour intensive, face-to-face services and the unemployment rate among lower income households, that have few financial buffers, “is expected to remain high”, according to the statement.

Noting that US policymakers acted “quickly and assertively” to protect livelihoods and businesses and to mitigate the lasting economic costs of the pandemic, the IMF staff said there are “tremendous uncertainties” surrounding the economic propagation of the COVID-19 shock.