FEBRUARY 1945 - OCTOBER 1945 (8 months)

The recession of 1945 was a brief, mild downturn which occurred as the U.S. demobilized from World War 2. Basically, the same thing happened in 1945 that had happened right after World War 1. During the war, a false high was produced by the extreme demand that the war brought to the U.S. Factories were put up, workers were hired, soldiers were enlisted… all of these were needed because of the war.

War comes with a hefty list of needs, so the U.S. factories and businesses prospered due to the war effort. But, when the war ended, this demand was cut off. Not only this but all of the returning troops now needed jobs, and so were competing with everyone else, even though fewer jobs were now needed.

As a result, there was a high unemployment rate, and some businesses had to fold out. Either they could not stay afloat without the war, or they just couldn’t handle the downturn that followed.