Today's announcement by the Bureau of Labor Statistics that job losses in this recession are now at or near record levels surely tempers news of the Great Recovery.
According to today's report, 5.2 percent of jobs have been lost in the U.S. since the start of the recession (December 2007). Here in Washington state, we've lost 4.3 percent of total jobs, putting us in about the middle of the pack (28th), comparatively speaking. You can view the full rankings here.
Arizona showed the greatest decline, becoming the first state to have lost 10 percent of its total jobs to the recession -- a feat that has only occurred once in the past four recessions according to the Economic Policy Institute. And Michigan, reeling from the loss of manufacturing jobs, is ranked second, having lost 9.8 percent of its jobs, followed by Nevada, also affected by the downturn in construction, having lost 8.5 percent.
Around the West, Oregon lost 7.7 percent, Idaho is down 6.6 percent and California is off by 6.5 percent, ranking them sixth, seventh and eighth respectively. Unemployment rates were still on the rise in 24 states last month and 15 states (seven in the South), had double-digit rates of joblessness.
Only Alaska (+0.6 percent), Washington, D.C. (+0.6 percent) and North Dakota (+1.4 percent) showed job growth.
