Multimedia: Charts

Any replication of this chart should be credited to The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution.

Comparing the Hardest Hit Counties in the 1980-1982 Recessions and the 2007-2009 Recessions

October 13, 2010

This map highlights the hardest-hit 20 percent of counties in the Great Recession from 2007-2009 and the 1980-82 recessions, measured by the increase in unemployment rates. During the Great Recession, unemployment has been concentrated in states with significant manufacturing operations such as the ‘Rust Belt’ in the industrial Midwest and some southern states, as well as states where home building had been an important source of economic growth, such as California, Nevada, Arizona, and Florida. During the 1980-82 recessions, the hardest hit states were oil- and natural gas-producing states such as Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Wyoming. Notably, very few counties were among the hardest hit counties in both the Great Recession and the 1980-82 recessions. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Years 2007-2009; David Card, Years 1980-82. The 1980-81 and 1981-82 recessions are grouped together.)

Recent Charts

Evolution of the “Job Gap” and Possible Scenarios for Growth

April 6, 2012 • Charts

The Hamilton Project tracks the monthly “job gap,” which is the number of jobs that need to be created in order to return to pre-recession employment levels while still absorbing the workers entering the labor force each month.

Impacts of Training Program Earnings by Years After Training

November 30, 2011 • Charts

It is critical that worker training programs be rigorously evaluated so that scare training resources can be targeted toward the most effective programs.

Federal Funding for DOL Training Programs, 1985-2011

November 30, 2011 • Charts

Federal spending on job training programs by the U.S. Department of Labor has gradually fallen since the 1980s, aside from a bump in 2009 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Earnings Gains of Displaced Workers in Technical Fields versus Other Fields

November 30, 2011 • Charts

Retraining in technical fields provides higher returns for workers than retraining in non-technical classes.

Earnings of Workers Who Lost Their Job in the Great Recession

November 4, 2011 • Charts

Recent research suggests that hardship for dislocated workers extends beyond periods of unemployment. Once reemployed, workers typically earn significantly less than they did prior to job loss.

Change in Family Earnings of Children, 1975-2010

October 7, 2011 • Charts

Over the last 35 years, the opportunity gap for children whose parents are at different ends of the earnings distribution has grown. Children at the 90th percentile of the distribution of family earnings have experienced a 45 percent increase, while children at the 25th percentile have experienced a decline of over 20 percent.