Which U.S. recession did the NBER date from March to November 2001?

The NBER dated the 2001 U.S. recession from March to November 2001.

The downturn followed the bursting of the dot-com bubble, which had driven large investment in internet and technology companies during the late 1990s. Business investment weakened sharply, especially in high technology, and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks added to economic uncertainty.

Although the recession lasted only eight months by the NBER’s chronology, the labor market recovered more slowly. The period is sometimes called the early 2000s recession or the dot-com recession, but “the 2001 recession” is the precise date-based name.

The NBER, rather than a simple rule based only on two quarters of falling GDP, determines U.S. recession dates by examining broad economic indicators such as employment, income, production, and sales.