 These forecasts represent significant downward revisions from the forecasts of three months ago.A 1 December 2008 report from the National Bureau of Economic Research stated that the U.S. had been in a recession since December 2007 (when economic activity peaked), based on a number of measures including job losses, declines in personal income, and declines in real GDP.By July 2009 a growing number of economists believed that the recession may have ended.