Our economy has been in a recession for over a year. It contracted rapidly towards the end of 2008, and is likely to continue contracting through the first half of 2009 and probably beyond.
What exactly is a recession?
The generally accepted definition of a recession is a country’s drop in gross domestic product (GDP) for two consecutive quarters. The U.S. based National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) defines economic recession as: “a significant decline in the economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP growth, real personal income, employment (non-farm payrolls), industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales.”
United States Recessions
Since 1854, the U.S. has encountered 32 cycles of expansions and contractions, with an average of 17 months of contraction and 38 months of expansion. However, since 1980 there have been eight periods of negative economic growth over one fiscal quarter or more, and only four periods considered recessions: [Read more…]
