• Lisa Simpson
• Nov 9,2009
• In: Real Estate

Recession Comes to a Close Followed by Anxiety

Recession has officially come to a close with GDP having gone up by 3.5%. But it is being dogged by anxiety and fear. On 29th October 2009 the Commerce Department announced the growth of the economy and it was received with cheers in Wall Street. The Dow Jones surged ahead.

But in Main Street and in other places like central Ohio the reaction has not been encouraging. Local observers feel that the effect has been more psychological than anything else as the ordinary people continue to fight foreclosures and unemployment without any credit flow.

Richard Call of Consumer Credit Counseling Service in Columbus’ branch in Columbus said, “I don’t think we can get overly optimistic. We have to get people back to work. That’s what will really stimulate the economy.” He said that his office is continuing to see more people battling financial and foreclosure troubles.

Bill Faith of Coalition on Homelessness and Housing of Ohio said, “I want to be optimistic. But I don’t know if the fundamentals are there to say we’ll see any improvements in housing and employment soon.”

It is true that there has been a spike of 3.5% in GDP. GDP or gross-domestic-product measures the total production of goods and services. But lately this has largely been because of government infusing the economy with funds and schemes. In particular the cash-for-clunkers and tax credits for first time house buyers helped to give a boost but how much the tempo would be sustained is a moot question.

The push by the government helped to bring to an end four running quarters of decreases. The third quarter showed an increase over and above what had been predicted. Stephen Steinour of Huntington Bancshares said that this was indeed encouraging. But it was not strong enough to persuade his bank to change its policies. He notes, “We continue to be prudent and conservative in how we manage our business as we wait for more positive economic indicators in the Midwest, such as the decline in the unemployment rate.”
Bill LaFayette of Columbus Chamber said that the drop in unemployment will not happen overnight but will take place at a slow pace. He said, “The sequence is that when the economy starts to come back, businesses will work their current employees harder, adding overtime. Then, they’ll bring on temporary employees and then they hire new, permanent employees.”