Final answer:
The statement is false as the United States typically experiences longer periods of economic expansion than recession, with historical data showing expansions lasting significantly longer.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that the United States economy spends about as many months in recession as it spends in expansion is false. Historical data on the U.S. business cycle shows that the economy spends more months in expansion than in recession.
For instance, after the Great Recession that started in December 2007 and ended in June 2009, the United States experienced a prolonged period of economic growth that lasted for a record 128 months until the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This pattern aligns with observations that the three longest expansions of the twentieth century occurred after 1960, suggesting that periods of growth tend to last longer than periods of contraction.