You call this a recession?

So banks are being hammered, US industrial production fell twice as much as expected and things are generally looking pretty grim — but hey, cheer up, people!

Things could be worse, and in fact they have been, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

They’ve done a few graphs, comparing the current recession with the previous 10 between 1946 and 2006 (as defined by NBER).

Conclusion: This is mild.

Of course, the graphs kind of miss the point. This recession may not be ‘as bad’ as previous ones, so far, but it has the potential to be worse — and longer. (That downward slope on the employment chart at left looks pretty determined to us).

In fact, the ‘current recession’ in these graphs starts from December 2007, again as defined by NBER, and it’s already gone on longer than the postwar average. From the Minneapolis Fed:
The 10 previous postwar recessions have ranged in length from 6 months to 16 months, averaging about 10 1/2 months. The current recession has surely surpassed the postwar average, but its total length will only be known when the Business Cycle Dating Committee retrospectively determines the final month of the recession.