Economist Mark Zandi: U.S. Just Had ‘Shortest,’ ‘Most Severe’ Recession in History

Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi in a Tuesday appearance on Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria” said the United States just experienced the “shortest” and “most severe” recession in history.

Zandi said the economy would not fully recover from the recession, which began in March and ended in May, until the United States is on the other side of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The first recession month was March — of course, that’s when businesses started shutting down,” Zandi told host Maria Bartiromo. “The recession was March, April and May, so May’s the bottom. June, this month, will be the first month of economic recovery. So, it will be a three-month recession, the shortest recession in history. We’ve got recessions dated back to I believe 1854. Typical recessions are about nine months, so this will be the shortest. It will also be the most severe.

He added, “A very short recession, but a very, very severe recession.”

Zandi predicted the third quarter would be a “big rebound” but said fully recovering would “be a bit of a slog” until the threat of a second wave of a coronavirus pandemic is over.

“I just don’t see the economy fully engaging until we get on the other side of the pandemic,” he advised. “You know, as long as there’s the potential for a second wave, businesses just aren’t going to fully engage, they’re not going to go out and hire and expand aggressively, and consumers are going to remain very cautious. Even on the other side of this bounce, unemployment’s still going to be very high, probably close to double digits.”

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