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Derek Thompson

Derek Thompson - Derek Thompson is a senior editor at The Atlantic, where he oversees business coverage for the website.
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He is a visiting research fellow at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget at the New America Foundation. Derek has also written for Slate, BusinessWeek, and the Daily Beast. He has appeared as a guest on radio and television networks, including NPR, the BBC, CNBC, and MSNBC.

Virginia, Colorado and Rhode Island Are Unemployed

By Derek Thompson
Mar 2 2011, 9:40 AM ET Comment

Calculated Risk previews the February employment report on Friday:

There are 7.7 million fewer payroll jobs now than before the recession started in December 2007.
Almost 14 million Americans are unemployed.
Of those unemployed, 6.2 million have been unemployed for six months or more.
Another 8.4 million are working part time for economic reasons,
About 4 million more have left the labor force since the start of the recession (we can see this in the dramatic drop in the labor force participation rate),
Of those who have left the labor force, about 1 million are available for work, but are discouraged and have given up.

I always find it helpful to translate into states and cities. So...

-- Payrolls have shed the equivalent of Virginia since the recession started in December 2007.
-- The entire populations of Virginia, Colorado, and Rhode Island are unemployed.
-- The entire metro areas of Chicago and Los Angeles have been unemployed for six months or more.
-- The entire metro area of New York City is working part time for economic reasons.
-- The whole of Kentucky has left the labor force since the start of the recession.
-- The workweek population of Washington, D.C., has given up looking for work.


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