A chart follow up...

[Drunken Irishman]

Back during the summer of 2011, a chart began circulating around the internet that was called 'the Scariest Job Chart Ever' and it was used as proof the recovery had stalled out.

By all accounts, the numbers looked bleak. It compared this recession's recovery to every past recession's dating back to '48.



It did look awful. Growth was slow and it looked like it was slowing even more in the summer of 2011.

So, what's it look like now?



This probably won't get as much play because it shows the recovery actually starting to take place. Still, it's painfully slow and no one should be celebrating just yet. But it's less bleak today than it appeared in June. Many predicted, from this graph, that it would stagnate at about -5% and stay there, if not plunge into another recession.

It hasn't. As you can see, we're now at -4% and moving closer to the 0 needed for a true recovery.

More importantly, I think this shows the depths of the recession. It is, without a doubt, the worst recession we've ever seen (not counting the Great Depression). All you have to do is look at how badly we plunged. But we're bouncing back. It's just going to take a few years to recoup all those losses.

[jaxx]

Very good chart. My gawd we really tanked and it's no wonder it's taking so long to recover. If those repubs would quit fighting everything we'd have infrastructure jobs going now too. Damn them.