Official figures show that the UK economy shrank by a far worse than expected 0.8% between April and June.
The fifth successive quarter of decline was much bigger than the 0.3% fall in output forecast by economists and deals a blow to hopes for a recovery.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the economy shrank at an annual rate of 5.6% in the second quarter of the year - the biggest fall since its records began in 1955.
The economy has now shrunk by 5.7% since the first quarter of last year, the ONS said - more than double the depth of the early 1990s recession and approaching the level of the slump seen in the early 1980s.
Although the quarterly drop was better than the 2.4% contraction seen in the first three months of 2009 - the worst since 1958 - experts were hoping for a much bigger improvement in the economy.
A 0.7% decline in output from business services and finance was the biggest driver behind the 0.8% fall in output in the second quarter of the year, the statistics showed. The services industry - accounting for almost three-quarters of overall economic output - showed a 0.6% decline.
Construction industry output fell 2.2% over the quarter and is now 14.7% below the same period last year, which is the biggest fall since records began in 1948. Production industry output - such as construction, mining and manufacturing - fell 0.7% between April and June, the ONS added.
