United States officially in an economic recession

The National Bureau of Economic Research announced on Monday that economic growth was halted in February, and since then, we've seen a decline in industrial production, real income, employment, and wholesale-retail sales.

Case.

After 128 months of economic expansion, the longest period of expansion since 18-54, the nation bureau of economic research says the united states is now officially in an recession.but what does that mean for us here locally??fox 55 caleb saylor is live to explain what happened and how the economy can get back on track.caleb..economists say we began to see a slowing down of the economic expansion taking place ?in february?.

Then, once the covid-19 pandemic hit, the bottom started to fall out.

Money makes the world go round isn just a saying.

We spen money and drive the economy forward.

Economics professor heather tierney with purdue fort wayne says consumer spending is about 70% of our gdp.

E are a heavy, heav reliant economy on consumer spen proving to t be problematic.

Covid-19 pandemic hit, businesses were forced to close, people lost their jobs or had to take pay and hour cuts, which then reduced income, and many shops closed for safety, limiting wholesale- retail sales.

Seeing a reduction in those four areas is how the national bureau of economic research determined we e in an recession.

Northeast indiana and nort economy is, in large part, industrial production.

Rachel blakeman with the community research institute at purdue fort wayne says to turn things around, we have to rely not just on local economic recovery, but national as well.

Ot only do we make pickup trucks for people who buy them here in allen county, we make pickup trucks that are bought across the united states, and so we want a make sure there market for pickup trucks, for steel, for medical devices, for recreational vehicles.

Those are some of the drivers of our local economy.

Seen a slow increase in one of the four areas, unemployment.

Tier partly due t to the ghe rnment payment protection program turned out to be a success.

So, employers started hiring back their employees, and also the stimulus payment.

Turn the recession into expansion, tierney believes battling covid-19 to a point where people feel safe to go out and spend their money will be the key.

E have to increase the flow of money within the economy because one pers spending becomes anot income.on his will be a point in in economic history that will be studied for decades to come.

Tierney explained to me that if we do have to go back into lockdown, itl have a negative ripple effect on the economy and it could be even worse than it is now.in fort wayne, caleb saylor, fox 55 news.