Comparing the recessions of 2009 and 2001:

One very easy source for data is the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FRED database. The series that measures real GDP is GDPC1, real GDP in each quarter of the year expressed at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (denoted SAAR). The monthly series for the unemployment rate is UNRATE. You can download these series in a variety of ways from this database.

a. Look at the data on quarterly real GDP growth from 1999 through 2001 and then from 2007 through 2009. Which recession has larger negative values for GDP growth, the recession centered on 2000 or the recession centered on 2008?

b. The unemployment rate is series UNRATE. Is the unem- ployment rate higher in the 2001 recession or the 2009 recession?

c. The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), which dates recessions, identified a recession beginning in March 2001 and ending in November 2001. The equivalent dates for the next, longer recession were December 2007 ending June 2009. In other words, according to the NBER, the econ- omy began a recovery in November 2001 and in June 2009. Given your answers to parts (a) and (b), do you think the labor market recovered as quickly as GDP? Explain.

For more on NBER recession dating, visit www.nber.org. This site provides a history of recession dates and some discussion of their methodology.