The National Bureau of Economic Research, the arbiter of the start and end dates of a recession, determined that the recession that began in December 2007 ended in June 2009.
The business-cycle dating committee met by phone on Sunday and came to the determination. “In determining that a trough occurred in June 2009, the committee did not conclude that economic conditions since that month have been favorable or that the economy has returned to operating at normal capacity. Rather, the committee determined only that the recession ended and a recovery began in that month,” the committee said in a statement. The 2007-2009 recession is the longest in the post-WWII period. (Read related article.)
The decision by the NBER means that any future downturn in the economy would be considered a new recession and not a continuation of the recession that began in 2007.
I don't know a single person in my circle of friends/family that feels the recession is over. Everyone seems to be in a worse financial situation than they were 3 years ago, and there's no light at the end of the tunnel.
I'm sorry the NBER came to that conclusion, because you know who will take all the credit.