Recession in U.S. was Even Worse than Estimated, Revisions Show

[The Northerner]

The worst U.S. recession since the 1930s was even deeper than previously estimated, reflecting bigger slumps in consumer spending and housing, according to revised figures.

The world’s largest economy shrank 4.1 percent from the fourth quarter of 2007 to the second quarter of 2009, compared with the 3.7 percent drop previously on the books, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Household spending fell 1.2 percent in 2009, twice as much as previously projected and the biggest decline since 1942.

“We do tend to get bigger revisions at turning points in the economy,” Steven Landefeld, director of the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, said in a press conference this week. On the more positive side, “in the past, we’ve tended to undershoot the recovery” as well, he said.

The data better explain why the jobless rate doubled, reaching a 26-year high of 10.1 percent in October, and has been slow to subside. The government also boosted personal income levels for each of the past three years, propelling the savings rate higher and signaling households are further along the process of repairing finances.

The rebound from the recession has been more subdued in the last six months of 2009, as the economy grew at an average 3.3 annual pace from July 2009 through December, instead of the 3.9 percent previously projected. By comparison, growth averaged 7.2 percent in the two quarters following the 1981-82 recession, during which the economy contracted just 2.9 percent.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-30/recession-in-america-was-even-worse-than-estimated-revisions-to-data-show.html

[tularetom]

1. "Was", huh?

OK, if they say so.

[DJ13]

2. Those doing well in the top incomes classes are really trying to convince

the rest of us who are still living in the recession that its over.

[Jackpine Radical]

3. Happy days are here again...

la-da-dee, la la la...

[Fumesucker]

4. Beat me to it..

"Was"?

What planet are these jerks living on?

[inna]

5. This chart says it all:

The 2010 contraction is now clearly worse than the "Great Recession" was at the same point in their respective time lines. And we don't see a bottom forming yet.

http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2010/07/inside-new-gdp-numbers-consumer-metrics.html

[dixiegrrrrl]

6. Damn...I was feeling a lot less unemployed till I read this.

[ixion]

7. past tense references are incorrect

this is very much still in play.