Vanishing Employment Map

Slate is asking (and answering) this important employment related question: When Did Your County's Jobs Disappear?

The economic crisis, which has claimed more than 5 million jobs since the recession began, did not strike the entire country at once. A map of employment gains or losses by county tells the story of how those job losses first struck in the most vulnerable regions and then spread rapidly to the rest of the country. As early as August 2007, for example—several months before the recession officially began—jobs were already on the decline in southwest Florida; Orange County, Calif.; much of New Jersey; and Detroit, while other areas of the country remained on the uptick.

Using the Labor Department's local area unemployment statistics, Slate presents the recession as told by unemployment numbers for each county in America.

Blue dots represent a net increase in jobs, while red dots indicate a decrease. The larger the dot, the greater the number of jobs gained or lost. Click the arrows or calendar at the bottom to see each month of data. Click the green play button to see an animation of the data.

Kudos to Slate for this fascinating study. Please click on the link at the top so see how employment vanishes over time, and where. It's well worth a look.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
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