February 1945 – October 1945 · 8 months Peak unemployment: 5.2% (1946) · GDP: −12.7% S&P 500: +23.6% over the recession The decline in government spending at the end of World War II led to an enormous drop in gross domestic product, making this technically a recession. This was the result of demobilization and the shift from a wartime to peacetime economy. The post-war years were unusual in a number of ways (unemployment was never high), and this era may be considered a "sui generis end-of-the-war recession". Dates: the National Bureau of Economic Research's business cycle chronology. Wiki link