America’s Great Recession Wasn’t the Worst

By FLOYD NORRIS
NYT

The Great Recession in America more than earned that title. But by international standards, it was not that bad.

The recession caused a greater decline in gross domestic product in the United States than any American downturn since World War II. It is also in the process of setting the record for the longest downturn, measured in the time it takes for the economy to recover to its prerecession level.

Yet among the world’s major industrialized economies, the American recession was among the least severe. And the United States is ahead of most other countries in recovering the lost ground.

From the peak level of economic activity in the fourth quarter of 2007, the American economy shrank 4.1 percent by the time it hit bottom in the second quarter of 2009. Since then, it has recovered most of what was lost, but the size of the economy remains 1.3 percent below the peak, according to preliminary figures for the second quarter of this year.

(More here.)