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Job Growth During the Recovery
Summary
Congress in recent years passed a number of bills intended in part to jump-start a recovery in the
labor market from the recession that began in December 2007. Members of the 112th Congress are
interested in the labor market's response to these measures to help them decide how well the
legislation has worked and whether additional job creation as well as retraining legislation may be
warranted in light of the pace and composition of job growth since the recession's official end in
June 2009.
One way to assess the extent and nature of recovery in the labor market is to compare
employment data from the end of the recession with more recent data gathered in surveys that the
government regularly conducts. Accordingly, to determine if and how much job growth has
occurred thus far in the recovery, this report examines the change in the number of jobs between
the recovery's start in June 2009 and January 2011. (January was the latest month for which data
were available at the time of the report's preparation.) To provide historical context, the results
are compared with job growth during the 10 prior recoveries. Data for January 2011 are compared
with December 2007, as well, to discern how close the number of jobs has come to the level at
the recession's onset. Employment data by job and individual characteristics for December 2007,
June 2009, and January 2011 also are analyzed to ascertain how different sectors and
demographic groups have fared during the recession and recovery.
A 'jobless recovery" prevailed across employers in the private nonfarm sector until March 2010.
That is to say, after the latest recession's end in June 2009 the number of jobs generally continued
to fall until nine months into the recovery. The recovery was jobless until October 2010, 16
months into the recovery, across all employers. At that point, net job growth began not because
government employment started to rise but because it fell more slowly while private sector
employment continued to grow. By January 2011, the number of jobs in the private sector had
surpassed its level at the recovery's start. At the rate that job growth recently has been occurring
at private sector employers, however, it likely will take quite a few years to recoup the almost 7.7
million jobs lost during the recession.
In two of the industry groups hardest hit by the recession-construction and manufacturing-
employment was lower in January 2011 than in June 2009, when the recovery began. Some of the
states with the most depressed housing markets as well as manufacturing-dependent states have
experienced relatively large job losses (Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada,
Ohio). Smaller job losses among women than men during the recession are partly explained by
construction and manufacturing having predominantly male workforces. Further job losses
among women during the recovery compared to a small gain among men are partly explained by
women's substantial presence in the occupations (e.g., teachers) that account for much of local
and state government workforces. The employment of Hispanic workers is returning fairly
quickly to its level at the recession's start, despite the ethnic group's employment concentration in
the hard-hit construction industry. Hispanic employment also is concentrated in the leisure and
hospitality industry group which, as of January 2011, had recouped over 96% of jobs lost during
the recession. Workers with at least a bachelor's degree fared better than less educated workers
during the recession and recovery, having regained all their job losses by late 2010.Congressional Research Service
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Levine, Linda. Job Growth During the Recovery, report, February 17, 2011; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc807732/m1/2/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.