U.S. Recession Began in February: NBER

At the same time the NBER acknowledged problems with the jobs data occurring during the early months of  COVID-19 pandemic. The payroll data, based on a large survey of employers, for example, overcounted workers "due to special circumstances associated with the pandemic of early 2020." Individuals on paid furlough were counted as employed even though they weren't working, according to the NBER.

"The committee concluded that both employment series were … consistent with a business cycle peak in February" even though the payroll data and household survey measure employment only through the twelfth of the month. As a result, the March jobs report, which the NBER considered in trying to identify when employment peaked, understated "the collapse of employment during the second half" of the month, "as indicated by unprecedented levels of new claims for unemployment insurance." 

The NBER noted that the "pandemic and the public health response" have led to a  "downturn with different characteristics and dynamics than prior recessions. Nonetheless, it concluded that the unprecedented magnitude of the decline in employment and production, and its broad reach across the entire economy, warrants the designation of this episode as a recession, even if it turns out to be briefer than earlier contractions."

— Check out What Is Going On With the Unemployment Numbers? on ThinkAdvisor.