Expansions are usually associated with plentiful vacancies and a low number of unemployed workers. During recessions the unemployment pool swells while employers seek to fill fewer job openings.

During a recession, the participation rate typically declines as discouraged workers exit the labor force.

In a recession, the severity of the decline is just as relevant as the duration of the recession.

One way to examine the composition of assets on the Fed's balance sheet is to group them according to the objectives of the programs used to acquire them.