The Job-less Recovery
The current national economic recession officially began in December of 2007 or about two years ago. The map below shows what unemployment looked like at the county level across the U.S. two-months prior to the recession’s beginning or in October of 2007. With a few exceptions, much of the country was operating with very low unemployment and some of the lowest unemployment rates (those shown in the lighter colors) were in the Interior West region of the U.S.
As the economy slowed over the course of 2008,unemployment rose, with much of this unemployment rising the fastest in areas that already had the higher unemployment rates to begin with. So, unemployment concentrated in these areas with the weakest economies, while spreading beyond these areas into other places as the slowdown continued. Again, some of the lowest unemployment rates were in the Interior West and parts of the Rocky Mountain West.
As the economic slowdown persisted through the months of 2009, unemployment continued to rise, reaching as high as 10.2% nationally in October. However, unemployment continues to concentrate at the highest levels in areas where the economy is weakest, spreading beyond these into other areas. And as this continues, more and more of the country has been pulled into the recession, even those with relatively strong economy at the beginning. Unemployment has spread into more areas of the Rocky Mountain West, even though it continues to do better than most other regions nationally.
The chart below shows states with the highest state-wide unemployment rates for November, 2009 (the most recent data).

10 States with the Highest and Lowest Unemployment Rates, Nov. 2009

Highest Lowest
#1 Michigan 14.1% #1 North Dakota 3.7%
#2 California 12.2% #2 Nebraska 4.2%
#3 South Carolina 12.1% #3 South Dakota 4.8%
#4 Rhode Island 11.9% #4 Utah 6.1%
#5 Nevada 11.8% #5 Vermont 6.2%
#6 Florida 11.5% #6 Kansas 6.2%
#7 Oregon 10.8% #7 Louisiana 6.3%
#8 North Carolina 10.7% #8 Montana 6.4%
#9 Illinois 10.5% #9 Iowa 6.4%
#10 Alabama 10.3% #10 Virginia 6.4%

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, November, 2009 (unadjusted for seasonality)

Five of the states with the lowest unemployment are in the central and northern Plains region including North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Iowa. Two are in the Rocky Mountain West – Utah and Montana. The other three are widest scattered in the East – Vermont, Louisiana, and Virginia.

Four of the states with the highest unemployment are where the collapse in housing activity and values is most pronounced including California, Nevada, Florida, and Michigan. Three others are in the South – South Carolina, North Carolina, and Alabama.

The current economic recovery is tenuous, being buoyed by temporary stimulus spending by the national government and low interest rates by the federal reserve. Low interest rates and increased spending by the national government are textbook Keynesian responses to recessionary economies. And, if all things go well, the national economy will slowly recover, with some areas emerging much sooner than others, including much of the Rocky Mountain West.

- Larry Swanson, Director, O’Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West