What do the shaded areas in the graph indicate?
The shaded areas indicate recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). A recession is a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months and normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production and wholesale-retail credit. For additional information about the criteria NBER uses to determine recessions, visit www.nber.org/cycles/recessions.html.
