There are many reasons Americans can start to feel anxious about the economy. Mass layoffs, particularly in high-profile industries, add uncertainty to everyone’s working lives. Consumers tend to pull back on spending if their wages aren’t rising or costs are increasing.
Some people use an informal measure to say the economy is in a recession: when gross domestic product (GDP), or the economy’s output, declines for two fiscal quarters in a row. But while these things tend to go hand in hand, that’s not an official designation.
