IG of the Day: Employment Since the Recession

Click on graph for more legible image.

This chart, found in the Commonwealth Institute’s new report, “Unemployed, Underutilized, Undone: Employment and Labor Force,” shows why the 2007-2009 recession still feels like a recession here in Virginia, even though it technically ended two years ago. In contrast to the past two economic recoveries, this business cycle truly has been a “jobless recovery.”

Among the highlights of the CI report: Unemployment in 2010 was stuck at the highest level since the early 1980s, underemployment was at the highest level in 15 years, and the drop in employment rates for Virginians with low levels of education were roughly twice the drop experienced by their better educated peers.

Digging a little deeper into CI’s report, it is somewhat disconcerting to see that the “bright spots” in Virginia employment, showing the strongest job growth between 2007 and 2011 were: (1) the federal government, (2) education and health services (both of which are experiencing unsustainable bubbles), and (3) state government. Only one private sector occupational category, professional and business services, eked out a barely detectable job gain.