Opinion | Recession Fears May Not Pass GO

How can the U.S. be in a recession when the number of jobs is growing at a healthy clip? According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, two consecutive quarters of declining real gross domestic product is enough for a recession. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported just that—real GDP declined at an annual rate of 1.6% in the first quarter and 0.9% in the second.

But a host of statistics suggest that the economy is still growing, not the least of which is last week’s robust jobs report and unemployment rate. While the Conference Board’s leading economic indicator suggests a mild recession may be on the way, it reports: “The coincident economic index which rose in June suggests the economy grew through the second quarter.”