Regional Insights: Lessons for a better future Share with
others: The new year will begin with the nation still suffering
from the effects of a recession that began five years ago. It
has been called the Great Recession because it was the longest
and worst national economic downturn since the Great Depression
in the 1930s. However, longtime Pittsburghers know the real
Great Recession actually happened 30 years ago. Between 1979 and
1983, the U.S. experienced two back-to-back recessions as a
result of high energy prices and efforts to control inflation.
In January 1983, the U.S. unemployment rate reached 11.4
percent, nearly a full point higher than the peak rate of 10.6
percent that was reached during the most recent recession. No
part of the country suffered more back then than Pittsburgh.
Between 1979 and 1983, the Pittsburgh region lost more than
110,000 jobs, almost 9 percent of total employment at the time.
Not surprisingly, unemployment in the region skyrocketed. At its
peak, the unemployment rate reach