In a week full of big economic-news releases, before the U.S. learned we’ve experienced two consecutive quarters of the GDP shrinking, the traditional definition of a recession.
Treasury secretary Janet Yellin and other Biden officials are already arguing that we’re not in a recession which seems like a clear hint that they expect Thursday’s numbers to be ugly. But to the average American, “recession” is a synonym for “economic hard times” and with inflation at 9.1 percent, lots of Americans feel squeezed.
Yellin said most Americans define recessions as similar to those that have occurred in the past: "Substantial job losses and mass layoffs, businesses shutting down, private sector activities slowing considerably, family budgets under immense strain ... a broad-based weakening of our economy." "That is not what we're seeing right now."
Her remarks extended the Biden administration's concerted pushback against recession talk after the Commerce Department reported earlier on Thursday that U.S. GDP shrank 0.9% in the second quarter, on top of a 1.6% contraction in the first quarter.
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