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Recession Indicators, Pt 1

NPR

We've been pulling out of a recession for so long now that a lot of people are wondering whether we're on the brink of going back in.

There's no easy way to tell, but there's an Indicator the Conference Board uses, called the Leading Economic Index. It's kind of like the dashboard on a car, with ten dials and gauges flickering away that the Conference Board economists use to tell how the economy is doing overall, and whether we're running into trouble (it is the dismal science, after all).

Today on the Indicator, we introduce you to America's economic dashboard, with the help of Ataman Ozyildirim, Director of business cycles and growth research at the Conference Board.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Stacey Vanek Smith is the co-host of NPR's The Indicator from Planet Money, and is a correspondent for Planet Money.
Cardiff Garcia is a co-host of NPR's The Indicator from Planet Money podcast, along with Stacey Vanek Smith. He joined NPR in November 2017.