As you probably guessed from the term “cycle”, there is a case of fluctuation involved. However, what exactly fluctuates? It is not the business, but the economy. In other words, the ups and downs an economy experiences in terms of jobs numbers, interest rates and personal incomes that contribute to an expansion or recession. Sometimes, literal meanings of the terms don’t actually help…
For example…
As of September 2016, the Australian economy spent twenty one quarters in a row in the state of expansion. This makes it the second largest business cycle streak in the world for expansion. The last time the business cycle went the other way or towards a recession, was in 1991.