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Minutes of a Federal Reserve meeting show that most policymakers believe that the economic recovery that everyone has been looking for has started. They admit that the turnaround is weak and some even want the central bank to help stimulate the economy by taking additional steps, according to an article in CNNMoney.

The minutes of the two-day meeting, concluded Sept. 23, were the most explicit statement yet that the Federal Open Market Committee now believes the recession that started in December 2007 is over. The committee comprises the group of Fed governors and district bank presidents who set interest rates and take other steps to spur or slow economic growth.

"Most thought an economic recovery was under way," the minutes stated. "Many participants noted that since August, they had revised up their projections for the second half of 2009 and for subsequent years."

Up to now, the Fed's statements have been more circumspect. Its statement , released at the end of the meeting, said simply that economic readings suggest "that economic activity has picked up following its severe downturn."

This is the first time that Fed minutes explicitly said that most members believe the recession is over. However, in response to a question in an appearance at the Brookings Institution last month, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke did say that the recession is "very likely over."

The decision on when a recession begins and ends is not up to the Federal Reserve, but instead the National Bureau of Economic Research. That group doesn't make any sort of declaration until months after the fact, in order to take into account final readings of various economic measures such as employment, income and industrial production.

For example, the NBER didn't declare that the recent recession had begun in December 2007 until a full year after the fact.

There is a growing consensus among outside economists that the recession is over. A survey of top forecasters by the National Association for Business Economics earlier this month found 81% believe the economy is in recovery.

Still, there was debate at the Fed's September meeting about what to do next. There was broad agreement that the fed funds rate, the key rate used to pump money into the economy, should be kept near 0%, and that the statement should say "economic conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period."

Although many may disagree with the assertion that the economic recovery is in action there is also news of how many stimulus jobs have been created. Another article in CNNMoney commented on how much has been paid out and how many are benefitting.