A new report from the National Bureau of Economic Research, the private non-profit group that "maintains a chronology of the peaks and troughs of U.S. business cycles," indicates that the United States entered a recession in February 2020. 

The latest report finds that quarterly economic activity peaked in the fourth quarter of 2019 while overall economic activity peaked in February on the eve of the global economic shut down prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Describing the historic nature of the economic collapse that subsequently took place, the report states, "The peak marks the end of the expansion that began in June 2009 and the beginning of a recession. The expansion lasted 128 months, the longest in the history of U.S. business cycles dating back to 1854. The previous record was held by the business expansion that lasted for 120 months from March 1991 to March 2001."

Archinect has previously reported on the initial stages of the recession as it took shape in mid-March and on the resulting economic fallout within the architecture industry. 

When the American Institute of Architecture's (AIA) Architecture Billings Index (ABI) figures for February were released in March, they showed that the demand for architectural services was slated to grow modestly in coming months. At that time, ABI registered a score of 53.4.

Weeks later, the March ABI report showed a score of 33.3, a 20 point drop in projected demand from that February high. April's ABI report fell even further, posting a score of 29.5. 

Economists, and the AIA, expect that the economy will rebound sharply as stay-at-home orders are lifted, but it has yet to be seen if (and how) this recovery will take place.