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Current Economic Expansion Now Longest in History, but Weaker than Previous Expansions
July 2, 2019
The period of recovery that began after the collapse of the housing market is now officially the longest in U.S. history. The current period of economic expansion began in June 2009, and it is now 121 months long. This beats the previous record of 120 months that spanned 1991 to 2001.
Though long, the current economic expansion is weaker than in past periods of growth. In the last 121 months, GDP has grown by 25 percent. The economic expansion that ran from 1991 to 2001 saw cumulative GDP growth of 42.6 percent. Though unemployment is historically low, job growth during the current expansion has been comparatively low.