Depression
a.k.a. Economic depression
A severe, long-lasting economic downturn, much deeper and longer than a normal recession.
In plain English
A severe, long-lasting economic downturn, much deeper and longer than a normal recession.
A depression is a recession that refuses to end: output collapses, unemployment soars and the slump lasts years. The Great Depression of the 1930s is the defining example.
There is no strict official threshold. The word is reserved for the rare, truly devastating cases.
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