Are we in a recession? Most Americans would say we have been for quite awhile, and on Monday a panel made it official.
According to a report issued by the National Bureau of Economic Research’s Business Cycle Dating Committee- a nonprofit research organization considered the final authority on such matters- the United States government is indeed in a recession, and has been since December of 2007. The Bureau concluded that that month marked the end of the previous economic expansion, which had begun in November of 2001.
A recession is defined in the report as “a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in production, employment, real income, and other indicators.”
The committee met Nov. 28 to deliberate on the announcement. Three days earlier one of its members, University of California economist Christina Romer, resigned in order to accept a position as Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers in the incoming Obama Administration.
Click here to read the full report.
