Washington, D.C. – A new report released today by the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) provides a snapshot of the current economic climate in each state, offering policy makers easy access to the major economic indicators in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in the areas of jobs, unemployment, personal earnings and housing.
“Understanding the Economy: State-by-State Snapshots” offers a gauge of the economic landscape of each state, allowing for quick comparisons with other states and to the overall U.S. economy.
“We believe the state reports are a useful resource for Members of Congress and other policy makers as well as interested individuals who want access to fresh, reliable, state-specific data without having to dig around for it,” said Chair of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney. “These state pages offer a guide to the state of local economies across the country, helping us to better understand the specific impacts of the Great Recession and also to see where growth and recovery have begun to take hold."
Major indicators in the state reports include:
• Private sector job creation or job loss since the start of recession;
• Jobs saved or created by the Recovery Act;
• Unemployment rate;
• Per capita earnings;
• Condition of the housing sector.
The United States economy has begun to improve since the beginning of 2009, when 741,000 jobs were lost in the month of January alone and real gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 6.4 percent in the first three months of the year. The magnitude of job losses diminished throughout 2009, with the average quarterly job loss declining from 691,000 in the first quarter to 69,000 in the fourth quarter.
JEC Chair Maloney added, “Families across the country have faced the worst economy since the Great Depression, marked by a housing crisis, credit crunch, massive job losses and significant wealth destruction. But in recent months, we have begun to turn the tide. The Recovery Act has helped to get GDP growing again and lifted employment by 2 million jobs. As we continue to work in Congress to create more jobs, boost growth and bring down unemployment, the JEC state reports will provide an effective way to track the progress we are making.”
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