New York (CNN Business) The US economy contracted for the first time in nearly six years between January and March, as the coronavirus crisis put the world in a choke hold.

America's first-quarter GDP, the most expansive measure of the US economy, fell at a 4.8% annualized rate, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis reported on Wednesday.

It was the first contraction of the US economy since the first quarter of 2014, and the worst drop since the fourth quarter of 2008, the height of the financial crisis.

Investments and consumer spending, which are the largest contributors to GDP, both fell sharply. Consumer spending declined at a 7.6% annualized rate, as people were ordered to stay at home. Last quarter marked the deepest decline in US consumer spending since the second quarter of 1980.

Much of America's GDP decline was driven by lower-than-usual healthcare spending, as people delayed elective procedures.

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