Economic Panel Says U.S. in Recession

ByABC News
November 26, 2001, 11:11 AM

Nov. 26 -- The U.S. economy hit a peak in March and has been in a recession since then, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, a panel of economists considered to be the arbiters of the nation's boom and bust cycles.

The peak in March put an end to the economic expansion that began in March of 1991 and lasted exactly 10 years the longest in the bureau's chronology. A peak marks the end of an expansion and the beginning of a recession.

The report did not specify when the recession would likely end, a point on which many economists disagree. But what is apparent is that the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States worsened the tone for the U.S. economy.

Unlike the oft-cited definition of a recession as two consecutive declines in real gross domestic product, the bureau, commonly known as the NBER, looks at various monthly indicators to determine whether or not the economy is in a downturn.

The bureau defines a recession as a significant decline in activity spread across the economy for more than a few months that can be seen in four indicators: industrial production, employment, real income and wholesale retail trade.

The NBER says it gives relatively little weight to GDP since it is only measured quarterly and is subject to continuing revisions that can often occur decades after the initial data is released. U.S. GDP declined at a 0.4 percent pace in the third quarter of this year.

Attacks Worsened Downturn

In a statement, the NBER said the attacks of Sept. 11 clearly deepened the economy's contraction and may have been an important factor in turning the economy's downturn into a full-blown recession.

"Prior to the arrival of the data for October 2001, the committee was not sure that the contraction met the criterion," the statement said. "With a cumulative decline in employment approaching 1 percent and the very large decline in industrial production, the committee has concluded that the criterion has been met now."

Indeed, unemployment has been a key factor that has led many economists to worry about the economy's health. The NBER considers employment the broadest monthly indicator in the entire economy.