The health of the labor market is commonly described in terms of
the official unemployment rate, but another key detail, the
percentage of jobs lost, underscores how a severe shortage of
jobs lies at the root of the current jobs crisis. The Map shows
the percentage of jobs each state has lost since the start of
the recession in December 2007. Although the recession
officially ended in June of 2009, all states except Alaska,
North Dakota and the District of Columbia continue to see a jobs
deficit. For several states, the loss of jobs has been
staggering. Nevada has lost 14.2% of its jobs since December
2007, and Arizona has lost 10.3%. The percentage of jobs lost is
10% in Michigan, 9.4% in Florida, 9% in California, 8.3% in
Oregon and 8.1% in Georgia. Rates of job loss approaching or
exceeding 10% in many of the country’s most populous states help
to explain the difficulty those without jobs face finding new
work. Importantly, these percentages reflect total jobs lost but
do not include the jobs that should h