A recession is due in the U.S. in 2023, according to a majority of macroeconomists in a June 2022 survey. Opinions varied, however, on when in 2023 this new recession could start exactly. Most respondents - ** percent - believed the economic downturn most likely start in the first half of 2023. Meanwhile, ** percent said that it would begin in the latter half of that year. Most Americans thought differently on this topic, believing that the country was already experiencing an economic recession in June 2022. The macroeconomists cited both geopolitical tensions and the increasing costs of energy as the main reasons why pressure would remain on U.S. inflation.

In a June 2022 survey, more than half of Americans believed that the best indicator of whether or not the country is experiencing a recession was the prices of goods and services they buy. This response was given by 54 percent of the respondents. A further 20 percent felt that the unemployment rate and job reports are the best indicator.

Graph and download economic data for Dates of U.S. recessions as inferred by GDP-based recession indicator (JHDUSRGDPBR) from Q4 1967 to Q1 2025 about recession indicators, GDP, and USA.

In May 2025, the Sahm recession indicator was ****, indicating no change from the previous month. The Sahm Rule was developed to flag the onset of an economic recession more quickly than other indicators. The Sahm Rule signals the start of a recession when the three-month moving average of the national unemployment rate rises by **** percentage points or more relative to its low during the previous 12 months.

Graph and download economic data for OECD based Recession Indicators for Major Seven Countries from the Period following the Peak through the Trough (DISCONTINUED) (MSCREC) from Feb 1960 to Aug 2022 about G7, peak, trough, and recession indicators.

Between ************ and *********, global recession fear went through periods of sharp increases three times. First, in the summer of 2019, due to an escalation in U.S.-China relations and a recession signal being flashed by the bond market. The second peak of worldwide recession fear took place in **********, as a result of the alarming jump in the rate of COVID-19 cases. The fear of recession started to increase sharply again in *************, as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine escalated.

Graph and download economic data for OECD based Recession Indicators for OECD Europe from the Peak through the Trough (DISCONTINUED) (OECDEUROPERECDM) from 1960-02-01 to 2022-08-31 about OECD Europe, peak, trough, recession indicators, and Europe.

This time series is an interpretation of Organisation of Economic Development (OECD) Composite Leading Indicators: Reference Turning Points and Component Series data, which can be found at http://www.oecd.org/std/leading-indicators/oecdcompositeleadingindicatorsreferenceturningpointsandcomponentseries.htm. The OECD identifies months of turning points without designating a date within the month that turning points occurred. The dummy variable adopts an arbitrary convention that the turning point occurred at a specific date within the month. The arbitrary convention does not reflect any judgment on this issue by the OECD. Our time series is composed of dummy variables that represent periods of expansion and recession. A value of 1 is a recessionary period, while a value of 0 is an expansionary period. For this time series, the recession begins on the 15th day of the month of the peak and ends on the 15th day of the month of the trough. This time series is a disaggregation of the monthly series. For more options on recession shading, see the note and links below.

The recession shading data that we provide initially comes from the source as a list of dates that are either an economic peak or trough. We interpret dates into recession shading data using one of three arbitrary methods. All of our recession shading data is available using all three interpretations. The period between a peak and trough is always shaded as a recession. The peak and trough are collectively extrema. Depending on the application, the extrema, both individually and collectively, may be included in the recession period in whole or in part. In situations where a portion of a period is included in the recession, the whole period is deemed to be included in the recession period.

The first interpretation, known as the midpoint method, is to show a recession from the midpoint of the peak through the midpoint of the trough for monthly and quarterly data. For daily data, the recession begins on the 15th of the month of the peak and ends on the 15th of the month of the trough. Daily data is a disaggregation of monthly data. For monthly and quarterly data, the entire peak and trough periods are included in the recession shading. This method shows the maximum number of periods as a recession for monthly and quarterly data. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis uses this method in its own publications. The midpoint method is used for this series.

The second interpretation, known as the trough method, is to show a recession from the period following the peak through the trough (i.e. the peak is not included in the recession shading, but the trough is). For daily data, the recession begins on the first day of the first month following the peak and ends on the last day of the month of the trough. Daily data is a disaggregation of monthly data. The trough method is used when displaying data on FRED graphs. A version of this time series represented using the trough method can be found at:

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CANRECD

The third interpretation, known as the peak method, is to show a recession from the period of the peak to the trough (i.e. the peak is included in the recession shading, but the trough is not). For daily data, the recession begins on the first day of the month of the peak and ends on the last day of the month preceding the trough. Daily data is a disaggregation of monthly data. A version of this time series represented using the peak method can be found at:

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CANRECDP

The OECD CLI system is based on the "growth cycle" approach, where business cycles and turning points are measured and identified in the deviation-from-trend series. The main reference series used in the OECD CLI system for the majority of countries is industrial production (IIP) covering all industry sectors excluding construction. This series is used because of its cyclical sensitivity and monthly availability, while the broad based Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is used to supplement the IIP series for identification of the final reference turning points in the growth cycle.

Zones aggregates of the CLIs and the reference series are calculated as weighted averages of the corresponding zone member series (i.e. CLIs and IIPs).

Up to December 2008 the turning points chronologies shown for regional/zone area aggregates or individual countries are determined by the rules established by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in the United States, which have been formalized and incorporated in a computer routine (Bry and Boschan) and included in the Phase-Average Trend (PAT) de-trending procedure. Starting from December 2008 the turning point detection algorithm is decoupled from the de-trending procedure, and is a simplified version of the original Bry and Boschan routine. (The routine parses local minima and maxima in the cycle series and applies censor rules to guarantee alternating peaks and troughs, as well as phase and cycle length constraints.)

The components of the CLI are time series which exhibit leading relationship with the reference series (IIP) at turning points. Country CLIs are compiled by combining de-trended smoothed and normalized components. The component series for each country are selected based on various criteria such as economic significance; cyclical behavior; data quality; timeliness and availability.

OECD data should be cited as follows: OECD Composite Leading Indicators, "Composite Leading Indicators: Reference Turning Points and Component Series", http://www.oecd.org/std/leading-indicators/oecdcompositeleadingindicatorsreferenceturningpointsandcomponentseries.htm (Accessed on date)

According to a survey on the anticipated recession in the United States in 2022, ** percent of respondents stated that they were planning to spend less on discretionary purchases in order to be better prepared for an economic recession. Only *** percent of respondents said that they were saving more money for retirement.

Between the first quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of 2022, the relative probability of recession in G7 economies was the highest in the first quarter of 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The risk of recession started to increase again in the first quarter of 2022, due to the escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Graph and download economic data for OECD based Recession Indicators for the United States from the Peak through the Period preceding the Trough (DISCONTINUED) (USARECDP) from 1947-02-01 to 2022-09-30 about peak, trough, recession indicators, and USA.

Canada GDP Counterfactual Tracker: % Change from Pre-Crisis Trend: High data was reported at -0.325 % in 30 Jan 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1.404 % for 23 Jan 2022. Canada GDP Counterfactual Tracker: % Change from Pre-Crisis Trend: High data is updated weekly, averaging -2.325 % from May 2020 (Median) to 30 Jan 2022, with 91 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.404 % in 23 Jan 2022 and a record low of -9.373 % in 24 May 2020. Canada GDP Counterfactual Tracker: % Change from Pre-Crisis Trend: High data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Canada – Table CA.OECD.WT: GDP Growth Tracker: Weekly.

In June 2022, a public opinion poll found that the majority of Americans currently believe the United States is experiencing an economic recession. In that survey, ** percent of respondents said that the U.S. is currently in recession and ** percent said the opposite.

Eo, Yunjong, and Morley, James, (2022) “Why Has the U.S. Economy Stagnated since the Great Recession?.” Review of Economics and Statistics 104:2, 246–258.

Graph and download economic data for OECD based Recession Indicators for the United Kingdom from the Peak through the Trough (DISCONTINUED) (GBRRECDM) from 1955-02-01 to 2022-09-30 about peak, trough, recession indicators, and United Kingdom.

OECD based Recession Indicators for the OECD Total Area from the Period following the Peak through the Trough was 0.00000 +1 or 0 in August of 2022, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, OECD based Recession Indicators for the OECD Total Area from the Period following the Peak through the Trough reached a record high of 1.00000 in March of 1960 and a record low of 0.00000 in March of 1961. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for OECD based Recession Indicators for the OECD Total Area from the Period following the Peak through the Trough - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

OECD + Non-member Economies - OECD based Recession Indicators for OECD and Non-member Economies from the Period following the Peak through the Trough was 0.00000 +1 or 0 in February of 2022, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, OECD + Non-member Economies - OECD based Recession Indicators for OECD and Non-member Economies from the Period following the Peak through the Trough reached a record high of 1.00000 in March of 1960 and a record low of 0.00000 in March of 1961. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for OECD + Non-member Economies - OECD based Recession Indicators for OECD and Non-member Economies from the Period following the Peak through the Trough - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

OECD based Recession Indicators for NAFTA Area from the Peak through the Period preceding the Trough was 0.00000 +1 or 0 in August of 2022, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, OECD based Recession Indicators for NAFTA Area from the Peak through the Period preceding the Trough reached a record high of 1.00000 in April of 1947 and a record low of 0.00000 in October of 1949. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for OECD based Recession Indicators for NAFTA Area from the Peak through the Period preceding the Trough - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for OECD based Recession Indicators for Japan from the Period following the Peak through the Trough (DISCONTINUED) (JPNREC) from Feb 1960 to Aug 2022 about peak, trough, recession indicators, and Japan.

Graph and download economic data for OECD based Recession Indicators for the OECD Total Area from the Peak through the Period preceding the Trough (DISCONTINUED) (OECDRECP) from Feb 1960 to Aug 2022 about OECD Economies, peak, trough, and recession indicators.