https://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39269753/ns/business-eye_on_the_economy/
‘Great Recession’ over, research group says
Downturn lasted 18 months; longest recession since World War II
At least, that's the word from the private, nonprofit researchorganization that calls the beginnings and endings of recessions, theNational Bureau of Economic Research.
The NBER said Monday that the recession which began in December 2007ended in June 2009, which marked the beginning of an expansion. Theannouncement rules out the possibility of a so-called “double-dip”recession, because any new downturn would be seen as a brand newrecession.
Story: Obama: Much more work needed to fix the economy
President Barack Obama said that even though the NBER officiallynamed an end to the recession, the economy has a long way to go and muchwork to be done to become healthy again. "Something that took ten yearsto create is going to take a little more time to solve," Obama said at atown-hall-style meeting shown live on CNBC.
The NBER said it chose the June 2009 date based on examination ofdata including gross domestic product, employment and personal income.
"The recession lasted 18 months, which makes it the longest of anyrecession since World War II. Previously the longest postwar recessionswere those of 1973-75 and 1981-82, both of which lasted 16 months," theNBER added in a press release on its website.
Just because the recession ended 15 months ago, it doesn't mean thatthe economy is healthy, the NBER asserted. "Economic activity istypically below normal in the early stages of an expansion, and itsometimes remains so well into the expansion," the NBER said.
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In April, the NBER declined to call the end of the recession, andsome of its members said at the time they were concerned the economycould dip back into negative territory. In Monday's announcement, theNBER said any fresh downturn would mark a new recession, not acontinuation of the one that began in December 2007.
"The basis for this decision was the length and strength of the recovery to date," the NBER said.
U.S. officials have been struggling to find a way to speed up asluggish recovery that has left unemployment at a painfully high 9.6percent. The U.S. Federal Reserve's policy-setting committee meets onTuesday and is widely expect to discuss whether additional measures arewarranted to bolster the economy.
The NBER normally takes its time in declaring a recession has started or ended.
For instance, the NBER announced in December 2008 that the recession had actually started one year earlier, in December 2007.