The Last 6 Years: A Movie Map

Here’s an evolving map of the U.S. and Canada showing employment changes by month.

Look  for:

• The fade out of the 2000-1, with the “jobless recovery” in 2003 and then the strengthening in 2004.
• The effect of Katrina on New Orleans (if you look carefully, you can also see the job increases in places near New Orleans as people moved out and took jobs elsewhere).
• The influx of jobs back into New Orleans as rebuilding commenced in 2006.
• The fact that Detroit’s collapse seems independent of the recession.
• The start of the 2007-9 recession in Bradenton, Florida, and later in Oxnard, California.
• The slow spread of a mild recession in the first 8 months of 2008.
• The rapid increase in unemployment in the last 4 months of 2008.
• The fact that McAllen, in south Texas, has completely skipped this recession!