GDP slightly above pre-recession peak, Investment Contributions (chart)

[ProSense]

GDP slightly above pre-recession peak, Investment Contributions

by CalculatedRisk

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), real GDP is finally just above the pre-recession peak. The estimate for real GDP in Q3 (2005 dollars) was $13,352.8 billion, 0.2% above the $13,326.0 billion in Q4 2007. Nominal GDP was reported as $15,198.6 billion in Q3 2011.

The following graph is constructed as a percent of the previous peak. This shows when GDP has bottomed - and when GDP has returned to the level of the previous peak. If the indicator is at a new peak, the value is 100%.

At the worst point, real GDP was off 5.1% from the 2007 peak. Since the most common definition of a depression is a 10%+ decline in real GDP, the 2007 recession was not a depression. Note: There is no formal definition of a depression. Some people use other definitions such as the duration below the previous peak. By that definition, using both GDP and employment, this seems like the "Lesser depression", but not by the common definition.

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[denverbill]

1. That's pretty surprising.

How can GDP be that good with 9% unemployment? Can productivity really have increased that much or are the productivity gains coming from outsourcing somehow?

[bhikkhu]

3. Population growth

we have about the same net jobs as before the recession - at which point job growth had been very slow for 8 years already - but population has increased significantly.

[Tarheel_Dem]

2. There's an article on MSN about the US economy "Picking Up The Pace" as well.

[bigdarryl]

4. Don't tell the rethugs this there heads will explode!!!