A recession, which is a term economists use to describe a period of negative growth for two consecutive quarters, is one that the White House has sought to downplay as the price of gas and inflation continue to skyrocket, largely thanks to Biden’s “green energy transition” policies.  

Speaking to NBC’s Chuck Todd on the weekend, Yellen claimed that “growth is slowing,” even though figures show that growth is now in the negatives for close to two consecutive quarters. Her remarks came ahead of the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ publication of an advanced estimate of second quarter GDP later this week.  

The report is expected to show that the economy shrank by a staggering 1.6% from April to June.  

The economy contracted by 1.5% in the first quarter of the year. Should the negative prediction hold up, it would constitute a recession, according to economists’ standard definition of the term.  

“This is not an economy that’s in recession,” said Yellen. “But we’re in a period of transition in which growth is slowing and that’s necessary and appropriate and we need to be growing at a steady and sustainable pace. So there is a slowdown and businesses can see that and that’s appropriate, given that people now have jobs and we have a strong labor market.” 

Yellen highlighted relatively low unemployment figures as an indicator of strong economic performance, doubling down on the Biden administration’s claim that the economy is in a healthy state. Despite the fact that unemployment is at 3.6% — a significantly lower figure than the pandemic-era high of 14.7% — numbers have yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels.  

The White House continues to assert that the United States is “stronger economically than we have been in history.”