Whether America is in a recession or not has yet to be officially determined. But unofficially, U.S. consumers may already believe that a downturn has begun and may be accelerating after a week of consequential economic news and months of rising prices.
Thursday's announcement from the Commerce Department that the U.S. economy contracted 0.9% in the second quarter of 2022 — following a 1.6% decline in the first quarter — meets a standard definition of a recession: two consecutive quarters of negative growth.
A National Bureau of Economic Research panel will eventually decide. Although that official declaration will be meaningful, what matters most is how consumers feel and behave in the face of higher prices on many goods and services.
