Washington - The US economy shrank by 6.2 per cent in the final quarter of 2008, far worse than initially estimated and the worst fourth-quarter showing by the country since the recession of 1982, the US Commerce Department said Friday.

The annualized figure was revised from an earlier estimate of an only 3.8-per-cent drop and underscored the severity of the recession in the US economy. Most economists are expecting a similar contraction in the first three months of 2009.

The figures followed on the 0.5-per-cent contraction in the third quarter of 2008 and mark the second of three estimates by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis, which is due to issue the final numbers next month.

The sharp downward revision resulted chiefly because of a larger than expected contraction of inventories of unsold goods, as well as a sharp decline in US exports and consumer demand, the department said.

Exports plummeted 23.6 per cent in the fourth quarter, compared to a 3-per-cent rise in the previous three months. Consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of the economy, contracted 4.3 per cent, the fastest rate in three decades.

The US economy, the world's largest, has been in recession since December 2007 and has lost 3.6 million jobs in that period, the fastest 13-month swing since World War II. (dpa)