Investment in nonresidential structures (such as office buildings, factories, and retail space) should also continue to expand, although not at the unusually rapid pace of 2006. Thus far, the weakness in housing and in some parts of manufacturing does not appear to have spilled over to any significant extent to other sectors of the economy.
Like the aftermath of the 1990-91 recession, the two years since the recession trough in November 2001 have been described as a “jobless recovery.” Indeed, the lag between the recovery in output and the recovery in employment has been significantly greater this time than it was after the 1990-91 downturn.