Illustrating the state of U.S. unemployment in pictures today.
First up, labor writer and American University grad student, LaToya Egwuekwe, created this animated graphic which shows the progression of unemployment levels across the U.S. from January 2007 – about one year prior to the start of “The Great Recession” – to January 2010.
They say a picture is worth 1,000 words right? Well, I can sum this one up with one. Ugly.
Egwuekwe plans to update the graphic each month. Hopefully we will start to see a more sun shiny yellow breaking up the purple cloud of unemployment blanketing the country in the months to come.
That’s what the Obama administration is hoping for too. Here’s their visual take on the state of things:
Regarding the graphic, the Obama administration also noted the following:
“One year in, the evidence is clear – and growing by the day – that the Recovery Act is working to cushion the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression and lay a new foundation for economic growth.
- According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the Recovery Act is already responsible for as many as 2.4 million jobs through the end of 2009
- As a result, job losses are a fraction of what they were a year ago, before the Recovery Act began”
Talk to anyone in HR and fellow Americans that are unemployed (and OK, most Republicans) and you might not get such a rosy picture quite yet.
An increase in temporary workers, the first glimmer that companies are thinking of hiring, is another stat that I’ve been hoping to see for some time now. Last month’s stats delivered. The labor market showed an increase of more than 50,000 temporary workers in January 2010.
There are signs of growth in other sectors and markets too. And a hefty Job Stimulus bill may help small businesses make much needed hires. Let’s hope that the next pictures we paint (in 2010, or maybe not till 2011 and – gulp – into 2012) can be be summed up with some other words: It’s finally happening, we’ve turned the corner.
Entries (RSS)