NBER Declares U.S. Recession Lasted Record 18 Months, Ended in June 2009

The U.S. recession that began in December 2007 ended in June 2009 after 18 months, making it the longest economic downturn in post-World War II history, the National Bureau of Economic Research announced Sept. 20.

The Cambridge, Mass.-based nonprofit group’s Business Cycle Dating Committee, the official arbiter of when recessions begin and end, made the determination Sept. 19 in a meeting to review recent economic data. The longest previous postwar recessions lasted 16 months during 1981-1982 and 1973-1975.

Agreeing with many private analysts that the turnaround in the U.S. and global economies occurred in mid-2009, the panel concluded that domestic ...