Does Bleak Economy Hint at Recession?
Dismal performance in several segments of the economy recently has at least one economist saying the signs point toward a possible recession. Jared Bernstein, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute, says poky Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers, lousy job growth and the weakest retail sales pace in more than three years combine to make a bleak economic picture. Preliminary numbers after the first quarter this year showed GDP (the engine that drives economic activity) at 1.3 percent. Second, Aprils job growth, at just 88,000 new jobs added to the economy, came at the slowest pace in two-and-a-half years. Finally, retail sales growth for March and April averaged out to a tiny 1.8 percent. Bernstein quoted analysts at Moodys, who said that was the weakest growth since November 2004.
