I have to disagree with the prevailing sentiment that this is a typical recession.

A lot, if not a majority of the commenters in this sub have been acting as if this is a typical recession caused by typical causes like monetary policy and a business cycle. I have to disagree with that notion, and I think that the evidence for this is pretty obvious.<br><br>Firstly, if this were a normal recession, you wouldn't see inflation. How could it be a business cycle recession if the price of goods is still rising? The evidence also supports this; the BLS's employment report last week showed that **the labor market is still improving**. I suppose you could say that the effects of the recession are just delayed, but I think that there is a better explanation for this.<br><br>Secondly, the markets are not behaving as they should be in a recession. Typically, markets have already tanked by the time we enter the recession, which is not the case this time. This recessionary period also has seen the bid-ask spread in treasury markets explode to multiples of typical levels. There is also the fact that treasury yields have been rising, which typically is a sign of an expanding economy.<br><br>This also doesn't resemble an inflationary recession like the one in the 70s. Then, wages were rising and unemployment was low and falling leading to a surge in aggregate demand, which outpaced the ability of the economy to supply goods and services. But, that is not the case now. In reality, unemployment has been rising recently, and wages are not rising very much. Anecdotally, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have all frozen hiring for many positions. <br><br>To me, it's obvious that this recession was caused by supply-side factors. The price of goods rose sharply due to a series of supply chain shocks to critical industries. The pandemic and invasion of Ukraine caused massive disruptions in supply chains, and those effects are still working their way through the economy. I suppose you could say the Fed caused it, but I think that the Fed's actions were justified. Something has to be done to combat inflation; letting it continue unabated would have severe effects down the road. Anyway, not like the Fed controls world events.