Worst Economy Since the Great Depression
This posting will be expanded as I uncover the statistics.
Annual unemployment rate:
14.6 % - 1940
9.9 % - 1941
9.7% - 1982
9.6% - 1983
8.5% - 1975
7.9% - 2009 [Average of January (7.6%) and February (8.1%.)]
Source: ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/lf/aat1.txt
Disclaimer: Due to changes in collection techniques, the BLS cautions against comparing data between years. See “Historical Comparability” in http://www.bls.gov/cps/eetech_methods.pdf.
Federal Funds Rate
16.39% -1981
13.35% - 1980
12.24% - 1982
11.20% - 1979
10.51% - 1974
10.23% - 1984
On March 12, 2009: 0.18%.
Source: http://www.federalreserve.gov/Releases/H15/data/Annual/H15_FF_O.txt
Annual Average Inflation Rate: Years > 10%
14.65% - 1947
13.58% - 1980
11.22% - 1979
11.03% - 1974
10.97% - 1942
10.35% - 1981
Current (January 2009) inflation rate: 0.03%.
Source: http://inflationdata.com/inflation/Inflation_Rate/HistoricalInflation.aspx?dsInflation_currentPage=0