Recession Took Bigger Bite Than Estimated

Recession Took Bigger Bite Than Estimated
By Alex Kowalski - Jul 29, 2011 6:30 AM MT

The 2007-2009 recession gouged the world’s largest economy more deeply than previously estimated and the recovery lost momentum throughout 2010 before stalling this year, revised figures show, painting a bleaker picture that may raise concern over the outlook for U.S. growth.

Gross domestic product shrank 5.1 percent from the fourth quarter of 2007 to the second quarter of 2009, compared with the previously reported 4.1 percent drop, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. The second-worst contraction in the post-World War II era was a 3.7 percent decline in 1957-58.

The depth of the economic slump better explains why the jobless rate doubled, climbing from 5 percent at the start of the downturn to a 26-year high 10.1 percent in October 2009. The strongest quarter of the recovery is now the first three months of last year. Growth decelerated every quarter thereafter.

“The overall recession is indeed deeper,â€