Analysis:
- Google search interest in the word “recession” has fallen in recent months, after spiking in August to levels not seen since the Great Recession.
- This follows a summer in which the media narrative focused on recession risks.
- This suggests that the media narrative about an imminent recession is over.
Economist Corner:
Economic expansions do not die of old age. Rather, movements in exogenous factors, such as consumer sentiment, are responsible for ending economic expansions. The media narrative about an imminent recession was a risk to strong consumer sentiment. However, search interest in the word “recession” indicates that this narrative has run its course.