A decline in the US economy was detected for the first time since 2009

Nevertheless, the single period of growth in the US economy under such different presidents as Barack Obama and Donald Trump has already been recognized as the longest (128 consecutive months). The previous record was the time from 1991 to 2001 (120 consecutive months), associated mainly with the era of President Bill Clinton.

"NBER defines a recession as" a significant decline in economic activity that has spread throughout the economy and is usually noticeable in terms of production, employment and other indicators, "the Kommersant newspaper reported. The recession, according to NBER, begins when the economy has passed its peak of growth and ends "when it passes its minimum, and, unlike the usual definition of a recession, it is not necessary that the recession lasts several months or quarters. The bureau usually waits a few months before announcing the beginning of the recession, in order to verify the gravity and inclusiveness of the recession".

In the NBER, the coronavirus pandemic is called the main cause of the current crisis, and the United States is not alone in this, since the problem hit almost all the countries of the world, most of all the poorest, where some of the citizens, being in isolation, faced real hunger. Nevertheless, powerful protests three months after the outbreak of the pandemic swept the United States, in a number of cities they were accompanied by riots and pogroms.

"We concluded that the unprecedented scale of declining employment and production and widespread coverage throughout the economy makes it possible to designate this episode as a recession, even if it turns out to be shorter than earlier recessions", - the NBER said. US GDP in the first quarter of this year already fell by 4.8%, while the unemployment rate in April rose to 14.7%.

In April alone, over 20.5 million people lost their jobs in the United States. The vast majority of them worked for private companies and only 5% worked in the civil service. The US Department of Labor noted that unemployment can even reach 20%, if classified as unemployed those Americans who indicated that they were absent from work for "other reasons". Texas Railways Commissioner Ryan Sitton said US oil production would drop 3-4 million barrels per day due to the crisis caused by the pandemic.