“Let me try unfold this to you in general terms. Let me start by the term recession and how it happens. It is basically a significant economic downturn spread across the economy that lasts more than a few quarters, in most cases is declared after two consecutive quarters.

More specifically, the term is typically defined as a period when GDP declines for two consecutive quarters. This prevailing line of thought is not popular in the local/kasi economy because people don’t think it matters and some do not even know anything about it.

But the truth is, there are a multitude of indicators that determine if we’re in a recession. Perhaps, a better way to understand how experts define recessions is to liken it to how economists say “you’ll know it when you see it”. You’ll know we’re in a recession when the employment rates, gross domestic income (GDI), wholesale-retail sales, and industrial production are all negatively affected for a number of consecutive quarters.

In a recession, you may feel these compounding effects a few different ways: jobless claims go up, spending habits change, sales slowdown, and economic opportunities dwindle.

“When they say you’ll know it when you see it, recessions are marked not only by a slump in real GDP, but also a decline in real personal income, a drop in manufacturing sales and production, and a rise in unemployment rates,” Rapule said.

“Bana ba Mandela [youth born after 1994], are concentrated in types of work that render them vulnerable to income and job losses during the current crisis and this group is more prone to income shocks, owing to their already lower salaries and savings,” she said.

Since we’re faced with the new crisis triggered by the pandemic, legislators have questioned the success of existing plans to create more jobs. Leaders and governments are bombarded with criticism of the employment and labor department’s ability to fulfil its employment mandate, ku’ref ref ref in that regard.