The “Great Recession” was even greater than previously thought, and the U.S. economyhas skated uncomfortably close to a new one this year.
New data on Friday showed the 2007-2009 U.S. recession was much more severe than prior measures had found, with economic output declining a cumulative of 5.1 percent instead of 4.1 percent.
The report also showed the current slowdown began earlier and has been deeper than previously thought, with growth in the first quarter advancing at only a 0.4 percent annual pace.
Full Story: Data shows deeper recession, sharper slowdown