The Commerce Department says the GDP grew at an annual rate of 3.5 percent last quarter, the first positive quarterly growth in a year, and the largest quarterly advance since the third quarter of 2007. This unofficially marks the end of the worst recession in 70 years.
However with 15 million Americans still jobless, it is not time to celebrate yet.
Stocks rallied on Wall Street with news of the end of the recession but the numbers might not tell the whole story. There are still many battles to fight even though the numbers show that the recession is over. To many, this is just a statistical recovery, not the end of a recession that has left many without homes, jobs and necessities.
Recessions in the United States are dated by the National Bureau of Economic Research and the private-sector group often takes months to make determinations. The economy slipped into recession at the end of 2007 and has been in the worst downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
What exactly is "GDP"? The gross domestic product (GDP) or gross domestic income (GDI) is a basic measure of a country's economic performance and is the market value of all final goods and services made within the borders of a country in a year.
There is actually a formula used to get the GDP figure, the most common being the expenditure method:
GDP = private consumption + gross investment + government spending + (exports − imports), or,
GDP = C + I + G + (X − M).
"After four consecutive quarters of decline, positive GDP growth is an encouraging sign that the U.S. economy is moving in the right direction," said Christina Romer, who heads the White House Council of Economic Advisors. "However, this welcome milestone is just another step, and we still have a long road to travel until the economy is fully recovered.
No one will be shouting, "the recession is over" anytime soon, but the statistics are at least heading in the right direction.
Cheryl Phillips
HULIQ.com
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