- Depressions' economic ramifications are severe and last for years. There is a large scale of financial decline, job loss and wage reduction. The United States has not experienced a depression since the Great Depression of 1929 that spanned over a decade.
- Economic downturns that last six months to two years are defined as a recession. Recession can be defined as a depression on a smaller scale. The United States experiences periodic episodes of recession. A typical recession period includes the peak, decline and bottoming out of business activity.
- A depression is occurring if the gross national product (GNP), or a country's financial success rate, drops more than 10 percent, while a recession only requires a 5 percent reduction. A recession is measured in quarters rather than full years like a depression.
- The Great Depression stated with the Wall Street crash of 1929. The gross national product decreased by 33 percent between 1929 and 1933. It was attributed to lax Federal Reserve money policies and easily-obtained credit.
- There have been four periods of confirmed recessions. The periods are July 1981 to November 1981, July 1990 through September 1991, March 2001 through November 2001 and December 2007 through the present day, October 2009.
