Bernanke: Recession is over, but tough times will linger
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The deep recession that's gripped the U.S. economy by the throat since December 2007 is "very likely over at this point," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday.
However, Bernanke painted a picture of an underperforming economy well into next year as he fielded questions after a speech at the Brookings Institution, a center-left research center in the nation's capital.
"From a technical perspective the recession is very likely over," Bernanke said, cautioning that unemployment is likely to remain high. "It's still going to feel like a very weak economy for some time, as many people will still find that their job security and employment status is not what they wish it was. So that's a challenge for us and all policymakers going forward."
Most mainstream economists think that the National Bureau of Economic Research, the official scorekeeper of when recessions begin and end, eventually will declare that this downturn came to an end in the summer or early fall of 2009.
What follows may not feel much like recovery, Bernanke cautioned, because structural problems in the U.S. economy are likely to resurface. There'll be economic growth during the rest of this year, "but the general view of most forecasters is the pace of growth in 2010 will be moderate, less than you might expect, given the depth of the recession, because of ongoing head winds."
The "head winds" he referred to include an impaired credit system, households still trying to dig out from personal debt and ongoing adjustments in many sectors of the economy, such as construction and autos.
However, Bernanke painted a picture of an underperforming economy well into next year as he fielded questions after a speech at the Brookings Institution, a center-left research center in the nation's capital.
"From a technical perspective the recession is very likely over," Bernanke said, cautioning that unemployment is likely to remain high. "It's still going to feel like a very weak economy for some time, as many people will still find that their job security and employment status is not what they wish it was. So that's a challenge for us and all policymakers going forward."
Most mainstream economists think that the National Bureau of Economic Research, the official scorekeeper of when recessions begin and end, eventually will declare that this downturn came to an end in the summer or early fall of 2009.
What follows may not feel much like recovery, Bernanke cautioned, because structural problems in the U.S. economy are likely to resurface. There'll be economic growth during the rest of this year, "but the general view of most forecasters is the pace of growth in 2010 will be moderate, less than you might expect, given the depth of the recession, because of ongoing head winds."
The "head winds" he referred to include an impaired credit system, households still trying to dig out from personal debt and ongoing adjustments in many sectors of the economy, such as construction and autos.
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artemis6
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Bernenkie has always been full of sh** . Depression IS "hard times" a**hole . I prefer he not even speak if he is just going to insult people with that way of non meaning spin .
- 2 years ago
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artemis6
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JohnA
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Over is it? It took him a year to even admit we were in a recession, now he says we're out of it. Things are going to be very bad for several years now and no amount of lip service from Bernanke is going to change that.
- 2 years ago
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JohnA
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pakazak
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and don't we know it......
- 2 years ago
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pakazak
