For Immediate Release: Thursday, October 27, 2011
Contact: Phoebe Silag or Karen Conner, news@epi.org202-775-8810 

Sluggish GDP is root cause of stubbornly high unemployment

By Josh Bivens, economist, Economic Policy Institute

“The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported today that the economy grew by 2.5% in the most recent quarter, meaning that it has grown by only 1.6% over the last full year.  This sluggish growth is the root cause of the stubbornly high unemployment rate we’ve seen over that time. While a double-dip recession does not seem to be in the cards, this does not by a longshot mean that the economy is healthy.”