Recession Ended Last June, Analysts Say

Break out the champagne: The recession is over! In fact, it’s been over since June 2009, according to a new report from the National Bureau of Economic Research, an unofficial group that marks the start and end of such economic events. Things may not be great, the committee concluded, but ever since last summer they have been headed in the right direction—real GDP in the second quarter of this year was up 3.1% from last year, the Wall Street Journal reports.

That’s the good news. The bad news? A separate report came out today from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development concluding that the US unemployment rate is going to remain in the stratosphere for some time. The group found that while past recessions had done little long-term structural damage, this one might have. “It could be early 2013, at best, before the rate returns to its pre-recession level,” the report said. (More recession stories.)