Will Massachusetts’ diverse economy blunt a looming recession?

With an overload of disparate data, headlines alarmingly assert that the economy is headed for a recession in 2016. Given the severity and duration of the last downturn, how might Massachusetts fare this time?

Technically, The Great Recession of 2007-2009 ended on June 30, 2009. But quantitative evidence feeds negative qualitative sentiments — many don't feel that the economy ever recovered from seven years ago, in spite of anemic growth. The U.S. economy has not grown above 3 percent for a decade; from 2006 to 2015 it has grown at an average rate of 1.41 percent (the slowest rate of growth in a 10-year period since 1930-1939). The sound of today's activity is barely audible compared to the roar of the post-World War II period (1947-2004), when growth averaged 3.45 percent each year.