Dow and the Depression - CNBC By The Numbers

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Oct.10

2:04 PM ET

Friday, 10 Oct 2008

Dow and the Depression

Posted By:Ariel Nelson

Topics:Dow Jones Industrial Average | Stock Market

As the markets continue their freefall, discussion of the Great Depression has begun to emerge. While economic conditions are nowhere near the levels they were back then (e.g., unemployment over 25% vs. 6% now), here is a look back at how the Dow [.DJIA Loading... () ] fell over that dark period.

The Dow and the Great Depression

The Dow peaked at 381.17 on 9/3/1929
Crashed on 10/28-29 falling from 301 to 230 or 23.6%
One year after the peak (9/3/1930) the Dow closed at 237.54, down 37.3% from its peak (vs. the 39% drop we saw as of yesterday's close from the 2007 peak)
Continued to slide until 7/8/1932 where it bottomed at 41.22, down 89.2% of its value over 2.5 years
The Dow did not cross above 381 again until 11/23/1954, over 25 years after its 1929 peak