Comparing the last two recessions

Here's more information about this recession as opposed to the previous one. In the graph below, I lined up the starting points of the two recessions. In addition, I assigned both recessions the same starting value. So the vertical axis represents the amount that the unemployment rate increased (or decreased over time). The value "2.0" on the vertical axis represents a doubling of the unemployment rate. I also pointed to where each recession officially started, where each one officially ended, and where unemployment returned to the starting point (for the 2001 recession). This should make it a little more obvious how much more severe the Great Recession was than the one before it.

In the 2001 recession, unemployment didn't return to its starting point until 59 months after the recession was officially over. This recovery won't hit that point until April, 2014.

In the second chart (below), I did the same thing as the chart above, but I didn't assign the same starting value, so the vertical axis represents the actual unemployment rate. This should make it even more obvious that the Great Recession was much more severe than the 2001 recession.

 

Now let's move on to GDP (Gross Domestic Product - the value of all the goods and services produced in this country). The chart below lines up the starting points of the two recessions. Like the chart above, the red line represents the 2001 recession (March - November 2001), and the blue line represents the Great Recession (December 2007 - June 2009).

Pretty obvious, isn't it? no matter how you look at it, the Great Recession was longer and much more severe than the previous recession.