SERIES 2: 2008 US Great Recession

The 2008 crisis in the financial sector of both the U.S. and global economy precipitated what has become known as the Great Recession. The Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the U.S. economy had peaked in Quarter 4 of 2007 then fell by 4.3% before it finally bottomed out in 2009 Quarter 2, at which point $634bn had been wiped off the real GDP of the US economy.

This is the national picture but there are layers of different performances by state and by industry sectors below this topline number. In truth the recession started earlier and finished later in certain sectors and states than the 2007 Q4 to 2009 Q2 timeline described as the Great Recession would imply, and this is covered at state and industry level on this website.

It’s worth noting that twelve states actually increased their real GDP during the 2008 Great Recession, led by Alaska with an 11.8% increase. At the other end of the table, Nevada’s economy was hardest his as real GDP fell by 13.2%.
Industry sectors coped differently with the crisis. Six industry sectors increased their real GDP during the 2008 Great Recession, led by a mining sector that increased by 18.7%. Fourteen industry sectors declined none more so than the construction industry which fell by 18.8%.