News from EPI: Fourth quarter growth data sends mixed message about economy’s health

For Immediate Release:Friday, January 28, 2011

Contact: Phoebe Silag or Karen Conner, news@epi.org 202-775-8810

Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity, grew by 3.2% at an annualized rate in the last quarter of 2010, an improvement over the 2.6% growth rate registered in the third quarter. 

In today’s GDP Picture, EPI economist Josh Bivens reveals that the 3.2% growth in the fourth quarter finally pushed GDP to a level not seen since before the Great Recession. The three-year lag between the previous business-cycle peak and a return to prerecession output levels is the longest since World War II. On average, the U.S. economy has been 9.4% larger three years after a recession’s beginning. The long lag time highlights not only the depth of the economic plunge in the Great Recession, but also the very slow recovery from the recession.  CLICK HERE for the full analysis.