A year ago our economy had started up from the bottom of the third postwar recession. The 1958 drop in gross national product- the total value of all goods and services produced in the nation-was greater than in 1954 and about twice as great as in 1949. The buildup in gross national product (GNP), in the first year of recovery, has been about the same for all three recessions. Thus, the net percentage change from the previous peak through the first year of recovery was greatest after 1949 and smallest after 1958.