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It appears to be different this time. No, really. Recessions in general see GDP down and unemployment up. Right now GDP is down but employment is also down.

It appears to be different this time. No, really. Recessions in general see GDP down and unemployment up. Right now GDP is down but employment is also down. This could potentially prevent or limit the impact of the recessionary cycle where layoffs reduce demand which brings down profits and GDP. Additionally, corporate profits and cash reserves are high while low labor force participation and problems hiring are making layoffs undesirable. While consumer confidence is down economic demand remains high at least for now. All this shows the current economic situation to be extremely unusual and quite apart from previous recessions whether it gets labeled as such or not.

simonh 4y ago
>Recessions in general see GDP down and unemployment up. Right now GDP is down but employment is also down... I think you mean unemployment is also down? Also work force participation is currently high, not low. But I get what you're saying, it's a very unusual situation. I think that's because this has nothing to do with the usual economic cycle. It's a very bouncy snap-back from the lockdown that's seen a boom in demand, a bust in supply, heavy stimulus. The feedback relationships between the economic indicators just aren't working as they usually do. Personally I think this recession will be relatively short. As I said it's overcorrections from the snap back after the pandemic, but things will settle down. That doesn't mean there won't be pain, there will, but hopefully it will be fairly short term.