Quarterly Update:
The Economic Downturn in Historical Context
May 29, 2012 Dinah Walker Analyst, International Economic
How do the recent economic collapse and recovery match up with past cycles? This chart book provides a series of answers, plotting current indicators (in red) against the average of all post–World War II recessions (in blue). To facilitate comparisons, the data are centered on the beginning of the recession (marked by “0”). The dotted lines are composites representing the mildest and the most severe experiences in past cycles. Because the most recent downturn has been compared to the Great Depression, the appendix plots the recent trend lines against the 1930s.
December 2011 marked the fourth anniversary of the start of the most recent recession. It is now possible to say with certainty that this was the worst downturn of the postwar period when measured by a variety of indicators. The economy contracted more and took longer to recover. Forty-eight months after the start of the recession,
unemployment was still 3.5 percentage points higher than at the start of the downturn. This chart book was designed to compare the four years immediately preceding and following the start of postwar recessions, so this will be its final update. The ongoing progress of the recovery will be tracked in the recovery chart book, which can be foun which compares the recent recovery to prior postwar recoveries.
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
-48 -44 -40 -36 -32 -28 -24 -20 -16 -12 -8 -4 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48
U.S. Real GDP Growth
Year over Year
Postwar Recession Average Current www.cfr.org/cgs
Data Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
-15%
-10%
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
-48 -44 -40 -36 -32 -28 -24 -20 -16 -12 -8 -4 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48
U.S. Real GDP
Relative to Start of Recession
Postwar Recession Average Current www.cfr.org/cgs
Data Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
-10%
-8%
-6%
-4%
-2%
0%
2%
-48 -44 -40 -36 -32 -28 -24 -20 -16 -12 -8 -4 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48
U.S. Federal Budget
Change in Deficit, % of GDP
Postwar Recession Average Current www.cfr.org/cgs
Data Source: U.S. Treasury.
-30%
-20%
-10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
-48 -44 -40 -36 -32 -28 -24 -20 -16 -12 -8 -4 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48
World Trade
Trade Level Relative to Start of Recession
Postwar Recession Average Current www.cfr.org/cgs
Data Sources: Organization for Economic Co- Operation and Development (OECD).
-2 0 2 4 6
-48 -44 -40 -36 -32 -28 -24 -20 -16 -12 -8 -4 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48
Percentage Points
Unemployment Rate
Relative to Start of Recession
Postwar Recession Average Current www.cfr.org/cgs
Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
-20%
-15%
-10%
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
-48 -44 -40 -36 -32 -28 -24 -20 -16 -12 -8 -4 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48
Nonfarm Payrolls
Relative to Start of Recession
Postwar Recession Average Current www.cfr.org/cgs
Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
-30%
-20%
-10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
-48 -44 -40 -36 -32 -28 -24 -20 -16 -12 -8 -4 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48
Industrial Production
Relative to Start of Recession
Postwar Recession Average Current www.cfr.org/cgs
Data Source: Federal Reserve Board.
-4%
-2%
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
-48 -44 -40 -36 -32 -28 -24 -20 -16 -12 -8 -4 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48
Capacity Growth
Year over Year
Postwar Recession Average Current www.cfr.org/cgs
Data Source: Federal Reserve Board.
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
-48 -44 -40 -36 -32 -28 -24 -20 -16 -12 -8 -4 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48
Manufacturing Sentiment
Postwar Recession Average Current
www.cfr.org/cgs
Data Source: Institute for Supply Management (ISM)
50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120
-48 -44 -40 -36 -32 -28 -24 -20 -16 -12 -8 -4 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48
Consumer Sentiment
Postwar Recession Average Current www.cfr.org/cgs
Data Source: University of Michigan.
-60%
-40%
-20%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
-48 -44 -40 -36 -32 -28 -24 -20 -16 -12 -8 -4 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48
Total Vehicle Sales
Relative to Start of the Recession
Postwar Recession Average Current www.cfr.org/cgs
Data Source: BEA.
-15%
-10%
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
-48 -44 -40 -36 -32 -28 -24 -20 -16 -12 -8 -4 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48
Vehicle Miles Traveled
Relative to Start of the Recession
Postwar Recession Average Current www.cfr.org/cgs
Data Source: DoT
-15%
-10%
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
-48 -44 -40 -36 -32 -28 -24 -20 -16 -12 -8 -4 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48
CO
2Emissions Growth
Relative to Start of Recession
Postwar Recession Average Current www.cfr.org/cgs
Data Sources: World Resources Institute, Energy Information Administration.
0.0%
0.5%
1.0%
1.5%
2.0%
2.5%
3.0%
-48 -44 -40 -36 -32 -28 -24 -20 -16 -12 -8 -4 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48
Investment Grade Spread
AAA Bond Yield Minus Treasuries
Postwar Recession Average Current www.cfr.org/cgs
Data Source: Federal Reserve Board, Bloomberg.
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
-48 -44 -40 -36 -32 -28 -24 -20 -16 -12 -8 -4 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48
BAA Spread
BAA Bond Yield Minus Treasuries
Postwar Recession Average Current www.cfr.org/cgs
Data Source: Federal Reserve Board, Bloomberg.
-60%
-40%
-20%0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
-48 -44 -40 -36 -32 -28 -24 -20 -16 -12 -8 -4 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48
Equity Market Performance
Relative to Start of the Recession
Postwar Recession Average Current www.cfr.org/cgs
Data Source: Bloomberg.
Appendix: The Current Recession Compared to the Prewar Average and the Great Depression
The economic cycle framework can be used to compare the current cycle to prewar (World War II) recessions and the Great Depression. The thick red line represents the current recession; the thin blue line, the postwar average; the thick green line, the Great Depression; and the thin gold line, the prewar average.
-100%
-80%
-60%
-40%
-20%
0%
20%
40%
-48 -44 -40 -36 -32 -28 -24 -20 -16 -12 -8 -4 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48
Equity Market Performance
Relative to Start of Recession
Prewar Recession Average Postwar Recession Average
Great Depression Current
www.cfr.org/cgs
Data Sources: Bloomberg, NBER.