Great Recession vs Great Depression : Not as deep but recovery much slower

The causes of the Great Recession were similar to the Great Depression – as opposed to most post war recessions that were caused by Fed tightening to slow inflation – and I’m frequently asked if we could compare the percent job losses during the two periods. Unfortunately there is very little data for the Great Depression.

Calculated Risk  ahs posted a graph based on some rough annual data.

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This graph compares the job losses from the start of the employment recession, in percentage terms for the Great Depression, the 2007 recession, and the average for several recent recession following financial crisis.

Although the 2007 recession is much worse than any other post-war recession, the employment impact was much less than during the Depression. Note the second dip during the Depression – that was in 1937 and the result of austerity measures.

Source:

Read more @ Calculated Risk: Percent Job Losses: Great Recession and Great Depression.