CNBC’s Gumede: U.S. ‘Definitely in a Recession’ by Definition and Things Look Much ‘More Negative’ with Consumers Going into the Red

On Friday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Way Too Early,” CNBC International Financial Journalist Arabile Gumede said that the revised GDP numbers show that the U.S. economy is in a recession according to the technical definition, and that while some people dispute whether we’re in one, “you can kind of get the sense that” with prices going up “things are certainly looking a whole lot more negative. Consumers certainly getting into the red as well when it comes to their bank balances across the board.”

Host Jonathan Lemire asked, “So, the U.S. government’s final reading of our gross domestic product last quarter shows that the economy shrank at an annual rate of .6%. Does that mean, technically, the United States economy is already in a recession?”

Gumede answered, “Yeah, technically, certainly it does seem so, right? It was a confirmed adjusted 1.6% dropoff in the first quarter’s GDP numbers, 0.6% decline in the second quarter. Technically, the definition does say two quarters of negative growth means that you’re in a recession. But, how many times have we heard, of course, leaders, whether it be economic leaders or even political leaders, including Joe Biden himself, say that the economy’s not necessarily in a recession. But you can kind of get the sense that, with everything going a little bit higher, whether it be from — right through from gas to all other sectors of the economy struggling, including food, things are certainly looking a whole lot more negative. Consumers certainly getting into the red as well when it comes to their bank balances across the board. So, you are going to see a lot of that come through. Whether it is official that they’re in a recession, I suppose someone may need to call it, but according to the technical numbers, though, yeah, definitely in a recession.”

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