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August 8, 2022

How do we know when a recession has begun?

  • Six months of contraction is a long-held informal definition of a recession. Yet nothing is simple in the post-pandemic economy.
    • By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
    AP Economics Writer

    WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy has contracted for two straight quarters, intensifying fears that the nation is on the cusp of a recession — if not already in one — barely two years after the pandemic recession officially ended.

    Six months of contraction is a long-held informal definition of a recession. Yet nothing is simple in the post-pandemic economy. Its direction has confounded Federal Reserve policymakers and many private economists since growth screeched to a halt in March 2020 as COVID-19 struck and 20 million Americans were suddenly thrown out of work.


     
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