What was the shortest U.S. recession on record, lasting only two months in 2020?

The COVID-19 recession was the shortest U.S. recession on record, lasting only two months in 2020.

The National Bureau of Economic Research dated the recession from February 2020, when U.S. economic activity peaked, to April 2020, when activity reached its trough. The downturn followed the rapid spread of COVID-19 and public-health measures that temporarily closed businesses, restricted travel, and reduced consumer activity.

Although brief, the contraction was exceptionally sharp. U.S. employment fell by millions in a matter of weeks, and real gross domestic product dropped at an annualized rate of 31.4% in the second quarter of 2020, according to later government estimates.

A common mix-up is confusing the recession’s official two-month duration with the longer period of economic disruption caused by the pandemic. The recession ended in April, but recovery was uneven and many industries continued to face major effects afterward.