The “Great Recession” has ended, officially.

At least, that's the word from the private, nonprofit research organization that calls the beginnings and endings of recessions, the National Bureau of Economic Research.

The NBER said last Monday that the recession which began in December 2007 ended in June 2009, which marked the beginning of an expansion. The announcement rules out the possibility of a so-called “double-dip” recession, because any new downturn would be seen as a brand new recession.