(Bloomberg) -- Japan described its economy as worsening for the first time since the global financial crisis, in a monthly assessment that used stark language to characterize the widespread damage from the coronavirus.
The Cabinet Office said the economy was in an “extremely severe situation” and “getting worse rapidly” as it cuts its view on the overall economy for a second month.
It downgraded its view of consumer spending, production, corporate earnings and the jobs market. For the outlook, it said the extremely severe conditions were expected to continue because of the pandemic.
The grim assessment came after the number of known virus cases in Japan climbed above 11,000 and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe widened a state of emergency to cover the whole country. Some analysts now see Japan's economy shrinking more than 20% this quarter.
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