Impact of the Great Recession on Total Employment and Unemployment Rates in the U.S.

Abstract

The economic downturn of 2008-09 was so severe that it has become known as the Great Recession, and by most accounts the subsequent recovery has been relatively slow. The most basic method of judging the severity of a recession and the success of a recovery is to look at labor market information. In particular, the unemployment rate and the number of jobs (total employment) are often used for this purpose. This study presents data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2007, 2009 and 2011 using maps to describe the recession and recovery at a national level as well as compare the effects across states.