The 'Rolling Adjustment' Recession (apr 1, 1960 – feb 1, 1961)
Description:
Duration: 10 monthsGDP decline: 1.6%
Peak unemployment rate: 6.9%
Reasons and causes:
This relatively mild recession was named for the so-called "rolling adjustment" in U.S. industrial sectors tied to consumers' diminished demand for domestic autos amid growing competition from inexpensive imports. Like most other recessions, it was preceded by higher interest rates, with the Fed increasing the federal funds rate from 1.75% in mid-1958 to 4% by the end of 1959.25 Fiscal policy also tightened at the end of President Dwight Eisenhower's second term, from a deficit of 2.6% of GDP in 1959 to a surplus of 0.1% a year later.26
Added to timeline:
Date:
apr 1, 1960
feb 1, 1961
~ 10 months