Identifying

In a 1975 New York Times article, economic statistician Julius Shiskin suggested several economic indicators that identify a recession; these included two successive quarterly declines in GDP. Over time, the other rules have been largely forgotten, and a recession is now often identified as the reduction of a country's GDP (or negative real economic growth) for at least two quarters Some economists prefer a more robust definition of a 1.5% rise in unemployment within 12 months.