Yellen Says Not All Recessions Alike, Inflation Can Come Down Amid Strong Job Market

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that she still views two quarters of negative growth as a good rule of thumb to indicate a recession, but believes it is possible to bring down inflation while maintaining a strong labor market.

"A shorthand of two quarters of negative growth is typically worked, and so a lot of people think of it that way," Yellen told reporters during a visit to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe reservation in South Dakota when asked how she would measure a recession. "But recessions aren't all the same.

"There are deep recessions. There are shallow recessions. There are recessions that have rapid recovery. There are recessions that might raise the unemployment rate slightly, but not a whole lot," she said.