A 3.5 percent increase in the country’s gross domestic product may mean the recession has finally ended.

After four quarters of losses, the GDP expanded during the third quarter of this year, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced Thursday.

UA economist Marshall Vest said the increase signifies the end of the recession.

“The recession is over and we can expect some fairly strong rates of growth here because there’s been a lot of damage done to the economy,” he said.

The increase in GDP means there will be increases in spending, incomes and employment, Vest said.

“We’re going to see some pretty good increases here in the next few months,” he said.

Though Vest said the recession is over, he also said it will be several more months before average workers are able to see the recovery.

“They can rest assured that better times do lie ahead, and the era of recession that we’ve been suffering through is now over,” he said.

However, Tim James, an economics professor at ASU, said the boosted GDP doesn’t necessarily mean the recession is over.

And even if the recession were over, James said, it is just a statistical concept, and for the economy to truly improve, the private sector has to recover.

“People have to start buying cars, going to stores again, spending their money on consumer durables, buying houses — they have to go back to normality,” he said. “What we should be concerned about is when people get their jobs back.”

The growth in the economy is largely due to the federal stimulus money, he said, and that is a problem if the economy is unable to sustain itself after the money is gone.

“Behind all the spending that’s going on prompted by a government boost, there is still a fundamental weakness because there are still lots and lots of people who are unemployed … and they are less likely to go back to normal behavior,” he said.

Because the recession had the potential to destroy the country’s economy, James said it is important to be certain the country is actually nearing the end of things before announcing the recession is over.

“I want to see sustained growth in the economy,” he said. “I want to see three or four quarters of growth before I’m convinced.”

However, it’s not in the interest of government economists to be cautious with their announcements for political and psychological interests, James said.

“If people think that the worst is over, they will then change their behavior from saving to go back out and maybe buy that car they’ve been looking at,” he said. “Officials are going to say the end is over because that’s their job — it’s to try to convince us as consumers.”

Regardless of whether the recession is over or not, Vest said Arizona’s economy still has a way to go before it fully recovers.

“I’m not sure that Arizona has reached the bottom yet, but I think Arizona’s economy will bottom out perhaps by the end of the year,” he said.

There are still many houses that need to be sold before Arizona’s economy can get back on track, Vest said.

“We’re going to need to see a resumption of home building before we see the Arizona economy begin to accelerate and move into the recovery,” he said.

Management junior Nate Benjamin said he doesn’t think the increase in GDP means the country is out of the recession.

“We’re getting back on the right track, but the GDP doesn’t pay the bills for American families,” Benjamin said.

Reach the reporter at salvador.rodriguez@asu.edu.