Growth recession

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Growth Recession is a phrase used by business economists, but rarely academic economists. It very generally means growth in the economy that is so weak that more jobs are being destroyed than created. Therefore, Real GDP is expanding (slowly) but jobs are contracting so it feels like a recession.

A former Group Managing Director at Global Insight who is now at the Bureau of Economic Analysis uses the phrase in this quote:

My feeling at the time (2002-2003) was we had a recession followed by a growth recession till 03. That’s what I showed on those Global Insight recession/growth recession charts. Mike Nemeira (Chief Economist, International Council of Shopping Centers) a better expert than I am, and I debated this. He thought there was an argument for a quick full recovery then a lapse into a growth recession. There is no agreed standard for growth recession. But I would say while it looked stronger for a couple quarters, it wasn’t real strong.

Soft landings tend to also be growth recessions but not always. If economic growth in the economy is slowing to such a point that establishment payroll growth contracts, then the soft landing is so soft it has crossed over into a Growth Recession. Both Soft Landings in the mid 1980's and 1990's qualify as for several months employment did contract. Two months in 1995 and one month in 1986.

Jobless recovery, is another similar term. All jobless recoveries are by definition also growth recessions, however not all growth recessions are jobless recoveries because a growth recession can occur at any point in an economic cycle, and a jobless recovery only refers to the period immediately after a recession ends.