Economic Research and Data
Features
- What Exactly Is a Recession—and Are We in One?
- The common definition of a recession, and the one most frequently cited in the media, is a period of two consecutive quarterly declines in real GDP. NBER’s actual definition is fairly vague, which explains why many prefer the shorthand definition, but the idea is fairly simple. A recession is any period when economic activity experiences a prolonged and widespread decline.
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- Fourth District Employment Conditions
- The District’s unemployment rate increased 0.2 percent, reaching 6.9 percent for the month of August. Compared to the nation’s unemployment rate, the District’s was again higher in August (by 0.8 percentage point), as it has consistently been since early 2004.
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- Swap Lines
- The Federal Reserve is using swap lines to provide U.S. dollar liquidity to other central banks dealing with the global financial crisis.On September 29, the Fed offered swaps totaling $620 billion dollars to nine key central banks through April 2009, if necessary.
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