The U.S. economic recession triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic officially ended in April 2020, the National Bureau of Economic Research said Monday.
By the numbers: The NBER initially said the recession brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic began in February 2020, making this is the shortest recession on record.
Why it matters: While some define recessions as two consecutive quarters of decline in real GDP, that measure is imprecise and lacks nuance.
- The NBER considers changes in income, employment, retail sales, and industrial production in determining if there has been a "significant decline in economic activity."
What they're saying: "The NBER’s traditional definition of a recession involves a decline in economic activity that lasts more than a few months," the institution said in a statement.
- "Nonetheless, the committee concluded that the unprecedented magnitude of the decline in employment and production, and its broad reach across the entire economy, warranted the designation of this episode as a recession."