Glossary:Business cycle

From Statistics Explained

Example of business cycle: employment in EU and US, 1997-2007 (% change compared with previous year)

A business cycle describes the expansions and contractions of economic activity in an economy over a period of time.

The economy considered may be a country, the euro area or the European Union (EU). The evolution of economic activity is expressed as a percentage change of an economic indicator: production, hours worked, employment, gross domestic product (GDP), etc. The business cycle is usually represented in a graph showing the ups and downs of economic growth over time.

Further Eurostat information

• Eurostat Business Cycle Clock

Related concepts

• Seasonal adjustment
• Trend cycle
• Working-day adjustment

Statistical data

• National accounts – GDP

Source

• OECD