US_Recessions_since_1860.csv

Name,Start Date,End Date,Duration Months,Months Since Previous Recession,Peak Unemploy­ment,Peak Unemployment Date,GDP Decline (peak to trough),Characteristics
1860–1861 recession,1860-10,1861-06,8,22,,,,"There was a mild recession before the American Civil War, which began on April 12, 1861, although the recession was only limited to some areas. Zarnowitz says the data generally show a contraction occurred in this period, but it was quite mild. A financial panic was narrowly averted in 1860 by the first use of clearing house certificates between banks.[9]"
1865–1867 recession,1865-04,1867-12,32,46,,,,"The American Civil War ended in April 1865, and the country entered a lengthy period of general deflation that lasted until 1896. The United States occasionally experienced periods of recession during the Reconstruction era. Production increased in the years following the Civil War, but the country still had financial difficulties. The post-war period coincided with a period of some international financial instability."
1869–1870 recession,1869-06,1870-12,18,18,,,,"A few years after the Civil War, a short recession occurred. It was unusual since it came amid a period when railroad investment was greatly accelerating, even producing the First Transcontinental Railroad. The railroads built in this period opened up the interior of the country, giving birth to the Farmers' movement. The recession may be explained partly by ongoing financial difficulties following the war, which discouraged businesses from building up inventories. Several months into the recession, there was a major financial panic."
Panic of 1873 and the Long Depression,1873-10,1879-03,65,34,,,,"Economic problems in Europe prompted the failure of Jay Cooke & Company, the largest bank in the United States, which burst the post-Civil War speculative bubble. The Coinage Act of 1873 also contributed by immediately depressing the price of silver, which hurt North American mining interests. The deflation and wage cuts of the era led to labor turmoil, such as the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. In 1879, the United States returned to the gold standard with the Specie Payment Resumption Act. This is the longest period of economic contraction recognized by the NBER. The Long Depression is sometimes held to be the entire period from 1873 to 1896."
1882–1885 recession,1882-03,1885-05,38,36,,,,"Like the Long Depression that preceded it, the recession of 1882–1885 was more of a price depression than a production depression. From 1879 to 1882, there had been a boom in railroad construction which came to an end, resulting in a decline in both railroad construction and in related industries, particularly iron and steel. A major economic event during the recession was the Panic of 1884."
1887–1888 recession,1887-03,1888-04,13,22,,,,Investments in railroads and buildings weakened during this period. This slowdown was so mild that it is not always considered a recession. Contemporary accounts apparently indicate it was considered a slight recession.
1890–1891 recession,1890-07,1891-05,10,17,,,,"Although shorter than the recession in 1887–1888 and still modest, a slowdown in 1890–1891 was somewhat more pronounced than the preceding recession. International monetary disturbances are blamed for this recession, such as the Panic of 1890 in the United Kingdom."
Panic of 1893,1893-01,1894-06,17,20,,,,"Failure of the United States Reading Railroad and withdrawal of European investment led to a stock market and banking collapse. This Panic was also precipitated in part by a run on the gold supply. The Treasury had to issue bonds to purchase enough gold. Profits, investment and income all fell, leading to political instability, the height of the U.S. populist movement and the Free Silver movement. Estimates on unemployment vary, it may have peaked anywhere from 8.2 to 18.4%."
Panic of 1896,1895-12,1897-06,18,18,,,,"The period of 1893–1897 is seen as a generally depressed cycle that had a short spurt of growth in the middle, following the Panic of 1893. Production shrank and deflation reigned."
1899–1900 recession,1899-06,1900-12,18,24,,,,This was a mild recession in the period of general growth beginning after 1897. Evidence for a recession in this period does not show up in some annual data series.
1902–1904 recession,1902-09,1904-08,23,21,,,,"Though not severe, this downturn lasted for nearly two years and saw a distinct decline in the national product. Industrial and commercial production both declined, albeit fairly modestly. The recession came about a year after a 1901 stock crash."
Panic of 1907,1907-05,1908-06,13,33,,,,"A run on Knickerbocker Trust Company deposits on October 22, 1907, set events in motion that would lead to a severe monetary contraction. The fallout from the panic led to Congress creating the Federal Reserve System."
Panic of 1910–1911,1910-01,1912-01,24,19,,,,"This was a mild but lengthy recession. The national product grew by less than 1%, and commercial activity and industrial activity declined. The period was also marked by deflation."
Recession of 1913–1914,1913-01,1914-12,23,12,,,,"Productions and real income declined during this period and were not offset until the start of World War I increased demand. Incidentally, the Federal Reserve Act was signed during this recession, creating the Federal Reserve System, the culmination of a sequence of events following the Panic of 1907."
Post-World War I recession,1918-08,1919-03,7,44,,,,"Severe hyperinflation in Europe took place over production in North America. This was a brief but very sharp recession and was caused by the end of wartime production, along with an influx of labor from returning troops. This, in turn, caused high unemployment."
Depression of 1920–1921,1920-01,1921-07,18,10,,,,"The 1921 recession began a mere 10 months after the post-World War I recession, as the economy continued working through the shift to a peacetime economy. The recession was short, but extremely painful. The year 1920 was the single most deflationary year in American history; production, however, did not fall as much as might be expected from the deflation. GNP may have declined between 2.5 and 7 percent, even as wholesale prices declined by 36.8%. The economy had a strong recovery following the recession."
1923–1924 recession,1923-05,1924-06,14,24,,,,"From the depression of 1920–1921 until the Great Depression, an era dubbed the Roaring Twenties, the economy was generally expanding. Industrial production declined in 1923–24, but on the whole this was a mild recession."
1926–1927 recession,1926-10,1927-11,13,27,,,,"This was an unusual and mild recession, thought to be caused largely because Henry Ford closed production in his factories for six months to switch from production of the Model T to the Model A. Charles P. Kindleberger says the period from 1925 to the start of the Great Depression is best thought of as a boom, and this minor recession just proof that the boom ""was not general, uninterrupted or extensive""."
Great Depression,1929-08,1933-03,43,21,24.90%,1933,−26.7%,"A banking panic and a collapse in the money supply took place in the United States that was exacerbated by international commitment to the gold standard. Extensive new tariffs and other factors contributed to an extremely deep depression. GDP, industrial production, employment, and prices fell substantially. A small economic expansion within the depression began in 1933, with gold inflow expanding the money supply and improving expectations; the expansion would end in 1937. The ultimate recovery, which would occur with the start of World War II in 1940, was credited to monetary policy and monetary expansion."
Recession of 1937–1938,1937-05,1938-06,13,50,19.00%,1938,−18.2%,"The Recession of 1937 is only considered minor when compared to the Great Depression, but is otherwise among the worst recessions of the 20th century. Three explanations are offered as causes for the recession: the tight fiscal policy resulting from an attempt to balance the budget after New Deal spending; the tight monetary policy of the Federal Reserve; and the declining profits of businesses leading to a reduction in business investment."
Recession of 1945,1945-08,1945-10,8,80,5.20%,1946,−12.7%,"The decline in government spending at the end of World War II led to an enormous drop in gross domestic product, making this technically a recession. This was the result of demobilization and the shift from a wartime to peacetime economy. The post-war years were unusual in a number of ways (unemployment was never high), and this era may be considered a ""sui generis end-of-the-war recession""."
Recession of 1949,1948-11,1949-10,11,37,7.90%,1949-10,−1.7%,"The 1948 recession was a brief economic downturn; forecasters of the time expected much worse, perhaps influenced by the poor economy in their recent lifetimes. The recession also followed a period of monetary tightening."
Recession of 1953,1953-07,1954-05,10,45,6.10%,1954-09,−2.6%,"After a post-Korean War inflationary period, more funds were transferred to national security. In 1951, the Federal Reserve reasserted its independence from the U.S. Treasury and in 1952, the Federal Reserve changed monetary policy to be more restrictive because of fears of further inflation or of a bubble forming."
Recession of 1958,1957-08,1958-04,8,39,7.50%,1958-07,−3.7%,"Monetary policy was tightened during the two years preceding 1957, followed by an easing of policy at the end of 1957. The budget balance resulted in a change in budget surplus of 0.8% of GDP in 1957 to a budget deficit of 0.6% of GDP in 1958, and then to 2.6% of GDP in 1959."
Recession of 1960–1961,1960-04,1961-02,10,24,7.10%,1961-05,−1.6%,"Another primarily monetary recession occurred after the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates in 1959. The government switched from deficit (or 2.6% in 1959) to surplus (of 0.1% in 1960). When the economy emerged from this short recession, it began the second-longest period of growth in NBER history. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow) finally reached its lowest point on February 20, 1961, about 4 weeks after President John F. Kennedy was inaugurated.[citation needed]"
Recession of 1969–1970,1969-12,1970-11,11,106,6.10%,1970-12,−0.6%,"The relatively mild 1969 recession followed a lengthy expansion. At the end of the expansion, inflation was rising, possibly a result of increased deficits. This relatively mild recession coincided with an attempt to start closing the budget deficits of the Vietnam War (fiscal tightening) and the Federal Reserve raising interest rates (monetary tightening)."
1973–1975 recession,1973-11,1975-03,16,36,9.00%,1975-05,−3.2%,"The 1973 oil crisis, a quadrupling of oil prices by OPEC, coupled with the 1973–1974 stock market crash led to a stagflation recession in the United States."
1980 recession,1980-01,1980-07,6,58,7.80%,1980-07,−2.2%,"The NBER considers a very short recession to have occurred in 1980, followed by a short period of growth and then a deep recession. Unemployment remained relatively elevated in between recessions. The recession began as the Federal Reserve, under Paul Volcker, raised interest rates dramatically to fight the inflation of the 1970s. The early 1980s are sometimes referred to as a ""double-dip"" or ""W-shaped"" recession."
1981–1982 recession,1981-07,1982-11,16,12,10.80%,1982-11,−2.7%,"The Iranian Revolution sharply increased the price of oil around the world in 1979, causing the 1979 energy crisis. This was caused by the new regime in power in Iran, which exported oil at inconsistent intervals and at a lower volume, forcing prices up. Tight monetary policy in the United States to control inflation led to another recession. The changes were made largely because of inflation carried over from the previous decade because of the 1973 oil crisis and the 1979 energy crisis."
Early 1990s recession,1990-07,1991-03,8,92,7.80%,1992-06,−1.4%,"After the lengthy peacetime expansion of the 1980s, inflation began to increase and the Federal Reserve responded by raising interest rates from 1986 to 1989. This weakened but did not stop growth, but some combination of the subsequent 1990 oil price shock, the debt accumulation of the 1980s, and growing consumer pessimism combined with the weakened economy to produce a brief recession."
Early 2000s recession,2001-03,2001-11,8,120,6.30%,2003-06,−0.3%,"The 1990s were the longest period of economic growth in American history up to that point. The collapse of the speculative dot-com bubble, a fall in business outlays and investments, and the September 11th attacks, brought the decade of growth to an end. Despite these major shocks, the recession was brief and shallow."
Great Recession,2007-12,2009-06,18,73,10.00%,2009-10,−5.1%,"The subprime mortgage crisis led to the collapse of the United States housing bubble. Falling housing-related assets contributed to a global financial crisis, even as oil and food prices soared. The crisis led to the failure or collapse of many of the United States' largest financial institutions: Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers, and AIG, as well as a crisis in the automobile industry. The government responded with an unprecedented $700 billion bank bailout and $787 billion fiscal stimulus package. The National Bureau of Economic Research declared the end of this recession over a year after the end date. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow) finally reached its lowest point on March 9, 2009."
COVID-19 recession,2020-02,2020-04,2,128,14.70%,2020-04,−19.2%,"The economic effects of the pandemic were severe after the first quarter of 2020. More than 24 million people lost jobs in the United States in just three weeks in April. Official economic impact of the virus is still being determined, but the recession was one of the shortest on record, helped in part by online purchases, zero interest rates, and printing of huge amounts of money by the Fed to prop up the stock market. [needs update]"