Report Includes Complete 2010 State Employment Data

Washington, D.C. – The labor force recovery from the Great Recession continues, with nearly all states having added jobs from January to December of 2010, according to the first edition of state-by-state reports issued during the 112^th Congress by the Joint Economic Committee (JEC).

“The latest data show that most states finished 2010 in better economic shape than when the year began.  While the recovery looks different across state lines, it’s encouraging that all but seven states added private-sector jobs over the course of the year,” said U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman-designate of the JEC.  “We still have a lot of ground to make up.   Unemployment remains a major challenge for many states, and it’s clear that job creation must stay at the top of the priority list for the new Congress. Additionally, it’s critical that we equip our workers today with the skills that will be needed for the jobs of tomorrow.”

Key statistics from the report include:

• From January to December of 2010, 43 states and the District of Columbia added private- sector jobs.  During this period, private-sector employment increased by more than 3 percent in the District of Columbia (3.4 percent) and by more than 2 percent in Texas (2.7 percent), Oklahoma (2.7 percent) and New Hampshire (2.2 percent).
• During 2010, the manufacturing sector added 136,000 jobs, a 1.2 percent increase in manufacturing employment.  Texas’s manufacturing employment increased by 3.5 percent in 2010 and Wisconsin’s manufacturing sector grew by 3.2 percent.
• The professional and business services sector added 366,000 jobs in 2010, a 2.2 percent increase in employment.  Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia added jobs in this sector during the year.

The report, entitled “Understanding the Economy: State-by-State Snapshots,” features key economic statistics for each state.  The report uses new state-level data for December, released in January, to explain how the economic recovery is unfolding in each state.  It is the first state-by-state report issued by the JEC during the 112^th Congress.

To see individual state snapshots, click here.

To read the executive summary of the report, click here.

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The Joint Economic Committee, established under the Employment Act of 1946, was created by Congress to review economic conditions and to analyze the effectiveness of economic policy.
www.jec.senate.gov