GDP Declines for the Second Consecutive Quarter: Are We in a Recession? On July 28th, the first reading on Q2 GDP was released showing a contraction of 0.9 percent. This is following the Q1 contraction of 1.6 percent. The decline of GDP for two consecutive quarters is widely considered to be a recession. In the US, however, a definition is more expansive. The National Bureau of Economic Research, a...