A Primer on Economic Recessions: includes a discussion of recent data that suggest a potentially significant slowdown in U.S. economic activity. The report also notes that we do not currently know whether the economy is in a recession and that, while forecasters have concluded that downside risks to economic growth have been rising, most forecasters (including the Federal Reserve, the Congressional Budget Office, and private forecasters) are not forecasting a recession for the U.S. economy.