Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Recession and Recovery

Chad Stone on the February Employment Report

"Today’s jobs report shows that job losses continued at a moderate pace in February and unemployment remained unchanged at 9.7 percent. While noting that these numbers may include the impacts on hiring and hours worked of the severe winter weather that paralyzed major Northeastern cities in February, the Labor Department said that it could not quantify the impact. These weather effects are transient, however, and the more important fact is that we still have a very long way to go to erase the huge jobs deficit that remains the legacy of the longest and deepest recession since the Great Depression." Read more

Topics

Basics

A recession is a significant decline in the size of the U.S. economy lasting more than a few months, normally visible in a variety of economic indicators. Economic stimulus policies aim to avert a recession or lessen its severity by boosting the economy in the short term. The unemployment insurance system helps people who have lost their jobs by temporarily replacing part of their wages, typically for up to 26 weeks.

Policy Basics:
- Introduction to Unemployment Insurance

Featured Experts

Robert Greenstein

Reports | Bio
Michael Leachman

Reports | Bio
Chad Stone

Reports | Bio
Paul Van de Water

Reports | Bio

The Center examines the impact of changes in the economy on federal and state budgets, as well as the likely effectiveness of economic stimulus proposals. We also examine trends in employment and promote reforms to strengthen the unemployment insurance system.