With the Great Recession five years behind us, the latest report on joblessness and employment at the state level shows just how far the recovery in the economy has come and how far of a road, it still must go.
The District of Columbia and 15 states have regained the full amount of jobs they lost during the recession, according to data from Moody’s Analytics.
California surpassed that milestone in June, says the managing director at Moody’s Sophia Koropeckyj.
Over a quarter of the states have rates of less than 5%, which is over a full percentage point less than the 6.1% national average for June.
Compared to June of 2013, the improvements are dramatic. Every state with the exception of Alabama has unemployment rates that are better than in June of last year.
South Carolina, which has an unemployment rate of 5.3% for three straight months, has a lower rate today than in the years leading up to the recession.
The unemployment rate in North Dakota is 2.7%, which is the lowest in the U.S. That state, which has been a benefactor of the natural gas and oil boom has had the lowest rate of unemployment in the nation for a number of years. North Dakota is ear the historic low for the state set this past April of 2.5%.
Rhode Island and Mississippi, both at 7.9% ranked as the highest in the U.S. for June. However, even the two are down from the same month in 2013, with Mississippi 0.8% lower and Rhode Island 1.6% lower.
As far as employment, the states that have fully recovered lost jobs are dispersed geographically, but the economies amongst them share common attributes, such as populations that are well educated and have technology centers or have large natural resources.
They are states like Colorado, California, Texas, Massachusetts, Oklahoma and North Dakota.
California has an unusual distinction. It is one of the leaders in both jobs gained and one of the states the highest rates of unemployment, which show just how much of a hole the U.S. dipped into economically during the Great Recession.
