Britannica Sources used in this answer

When did the U.S. economy begin to recover from the Great Depression?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

A long line of unemployed men in coats and hats stands outside a soup kitchen in Chicago, with a storefront sign reading Free Soup, Coffee and Doughnuts for the Unemployed. — Great Depression Unemployed men standing in line outside a soup kitchen, Chicago.

The U.S. economy began to recover from the Great Depression in the spring of 1933.1

Following the initial downturn, which lasted from 1929 until early 1933, the country experienced a period of rapid growth in the mid-1930s, with real gross domestic product rising at an average rate of 9 percent per year between 1933 and 1937. This recovery was largely driven by monetary expansion and the effective devaluation of the currency in 1933, which allowed for increased money supply and stimulated spending.12

However, the recovery was interrupted by a second severe recession between 1937 and 1938. While the economy grew rapidly again after mid-1938, it remained below its long-run trend path for much of the decade. The U.S. economy did not fully return to its long-run trend path until 1942, as World War II and associated fiscal policy helped complete the return to full employment.12