How the recovery in the United States compares with previous ones



THE great recession hit America even harder than previously thought. The GDP data released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) show that output rose by an annualised 1.3% over the second quarter of 2011, worse than had been expected. But the department's annual revisions to previous figures contained still worse news. Annual GDP growth for 2008 and 2009 was revised down by 0.3 and 0.9 percentage points; the 2010 figure was revised up, but not by enough to compensate. The release means that output in America is still at a lower level than its peak before the recession, a point earlier numbers said had been passed at the end of last year. When compared to the three other slowest post-war recoveries, the current “jobless recovery” has been thought unique in its lack of employment growth. After previous recessions an acceleration in output had helped the employment recover to its initial level. The BEA's new figures show that with output having grown less than previously thought, America's jobless may have longer to wait for a similar boost.