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Institute says recession

March 31, 2008

The Economic Cycle Research Institute said in a March 28 report the U.S. economy is now on track for a recession. This is the organization's first recession call since early 2001.

"Indeed, the process of spreading weakness that leads to recessionary job losses is not under way, and it is too late to head off the recession," according to the ECRI report. "We know this because the weakness has now spread to ECRI's leading index for nonfinancial services, a sector that accounts for five out of eight U.S. jobs. Even if the downturn in manufacturing, which accounts for one in 10 U.S. jobs, is modest, we are likely to see sustained job losses."

ECRI reported this recession could have been avoided had the federal stimulus package been forwarded to consumers much sooner.