We take another peek at national unemployment statistics.
With the stock market all the way up right now and the holidays ringing in some optimism, it’s nice to take a break from our collective gripes about the jobless recovery, massive consumer debt problems and undeserved excesses of big business (which continue to do creative things with their bailout money and our taxpayer dollars).
But then again, I have this soft spot for pretty visuals like the one I featured in an earlier post on California’s unemployment rate history. This time around, I discovered the following graphic which shows U.S. (national) unemployment rates in a colorful map from 2007 to the present. The map shows the state of joblessness in the U.S. each month during a period of economic decline, with lighter shades in the map signifying lower unemployment. The darker colors on the map indicate higher unemployment numbers.
Here are some stills from the slideshow called The Decline: The Geography of A Recession.
U.S. Unemployment Rates (2007 – 2009), Short History of Recession
To run the graphic, please visit this link.
It’s quite interesting to see how the worst hit areas are the Western and Eastern parts of the U.S. (well, along with Alaska and Hawaii). What’s going on in the central states that make them less vulnerable to job losses? And it’s quite concerning to see the large swathes of dark gray areas in the Western part of the U.S.; so it’s no surprise that we’re seeing so many homeowners fall into foreclosure and personal bankruptcy around here.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
My friend just got a bid away for 50% MORE money in November, 1.5 months before the bidding company’s calendar year closes. We’re talking going from $200,000 to about $300,000 in guaranteed money for 2009, and locking in a minimum of $300,000 for 2010.
The job market frenzy is returning. Who knows, if my friend waited until Feb, he may have been able to get $400,000 locked in! But the 2009 guarantee was good enough for him.
I’m going to buy a Ferrari dealership next year b/c LinkedIN is valued at $1 billion, and Facebook is valued at $10 billion and you know at least Facebook is IPOing in the next 20 months.
Best,
Sam-urai
Very interesting graphs. Let’s hope Obama makes the right decision and does not sign the Copenhagen scam. Let’s hope Congress pulls the upset and scraps health care, and let’s hope the cap and trade doesn’t pass. Each of these could have disasterous effects/impact on the economy and resulting joblessness.
Nice find. Thanks for highlighting these graphs / their source’s link. wow do they tell the story of increasing unemployment in our country.
Well, fortunately Congress passed a trillion dollar spending spree, er, I mean stimulus package so unemployment won’t go over 8%… oops, I meant 15%. However the good news is that they holding a jobs summit to figure out what to do next. Unfortunately, they left out the NFIB and U.S. Chamber of Commerce who primarily represent small businesses, you know the groups that create 70% of the new jobs in the U.S.!
I am beginning to think that this Congress and President couldn’t find their collective backsides with both hands.
It is interesting that the midwest doesn’t have nearly the levels of unemployment of the east and west coasts.
It seems to almost follow tornado alley which is where a lot of people don’t live. I wonder if the data is accurate having a much smaller sampling size and considering most people there are rural, thus able to get help from neighbors and friends.
Just a thought, I might be way off the mark.