Two indicators of the severity of the current recession, depth and duration, worsened in the past month. The depth of the decline in inflation-adjusted Gross Domestic Product in the fourth quarter of 2008 was revised by the U.S.

Labor markets in the Western states are among those (a) hardest hit and (b) least affected by the current economic contraction, based on nonagricultural employment figures for January 2009, released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

One of the features of fiscal policy initiatives is that they can be targeted to industries and geographic areas in greatest need.

The Economic Minute is a new feature of Knowledge@W. P. Carey. These brief recaps by W. P. Carey economists, first presented at Economic Club of Phoenix luncheons, are designed to bring you up to date on current conditions nationally and in the West.

We shouldn't expect the stimulus plan presented by Congress to the President to bring an early end to dismal data reports on the health of the economy. Conditions will continue to worsen for at least the next two quarters.

The American gaming industry enjoyed an unprecedented run of luck during the late 1990s and the first half of this decade.

Analysts are sifting through the latest economic data for their states, but there is little good news to be found. According to December figures on unemployment recently released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment is up over last month in each of the 50 states.

"Victory is contagious, and food always tastes better when you win," says Ray Artigue, the former senior vice president of the Phoenix Suns, who is now a professor of practice in the marketing department at the W. P. Carey School of Business and director of the W. P. Carey MBA

Bad news is never welcome, and there is always plenty of it during recession. Research economist Lee McPheters, editor of Economy@W. P. Carey, concedes that while this recession lasts, more depressing headlines lie ahead.

With a working title of "recovery and reinvestment," President-elect Obama's economic stimulus plan aims to "save or create" 3 million jobs by the end of 2010.