In late 2007, the United States fell into a "Great Recession." According to the National Bureau of Economic Research the recession officially ended in June 2009, but it took several more years for average household income and expenditures to exceed their 2008 levels in nominal terms. The recession lowered household income and consumer expenditures across all income groups. This Spotlight on Statistics examines trends in income and expenditures and how unevenly the gains were distributed across socioeconomic groups.