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NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long appeared on CNBC to discuss how consumer spending makes up nearly 70% of the economy and if that remains high, a recession may not materialize.

“Consumer spending represents more than half of the economy,” said Long. “So if consumer spending is strong, that alone is, generally speaking, enough to keep the economy from slipping into a recession.”

In addition, Long recently discussed consumer spending in the latest consumer credit report.

“Consumer credit surged in March by $26.5 billion, far exceeding experts' forecasts. After a 5.7 percent increase in February and a 13.6 percent increase in January, revolving debt expanded by 17.3 percent in March, resulting in one of the largest spikes in credit card balances on record,” he noted.

To stay up-to-date on macroeconomic indicators, view the NAFCU Research Team’s Macro Data Flash reports. 

Watch the full video. NAFCU will continue to update credit unions on economic data via NAFCU Today.