The group of economists that keeps more-or-less official track of economic cycles has decided that the recession ended in June 2009, even though most of the country is still feeling the effects.
The National Bureau of Economic Research announced Monday that the trough date (not to be confused with a tough date, which is what Id call getting a date with a supermodel) came in June of last year after an 18-month recession that began in December 2007. Economic expansion apparently started after June 2009, and while that was probably true of Wall Street banks balance sheets and bankers bonuses, many peoples bank accounts have continued to shrink.
The bureaus selection of the official trough date was based on figures for real Gross Domestic Product and real Gross Domestic Income, as shown in the latest revised figures for the National Income and Product Accounts. So, while according to the official stats, the recession may be over, the after-effects are bound to linger for years to come, especially with unemployment still hovering at close to double digits.
