RECESSION FORECAST: BRIEF AND MILD

The economy may already be in a downturn, but the jobs market will remain strong.

- SANDRA BLOCK

Dana Peterson is the chief economist for the Conference Board, a business and economics research group.

Some economists believe the economy has already gone into recession. Do you agree? We need more data to be sure, but our leading economic indicators have been signaling a recession starting sometime between February and April. We think the recession is going to be short and shallow, lasting just a few quarters, with not much damage to the labor market or deep declines in gross domestic product.