JEC Releases March Edition of State-by-State Economic Snapshots

Report Updated with New February State Employment Data

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Chairman of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC) released the March 2011 edition of its state-by-state snapshots which detail each individual state’s economic progress for the previous month. The report shows that the recovery continues, with twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia seeing their unemployment rates decline in February.

“The latest data give us more evidence that the economy continues to recover,” said Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the JEC.  “We have seen six straight quarters of growth in gross domestic product, private sector job gains for 12 consecutive months, and expanding economic activity in the manufacturing sector for the past 19 months. We are seeing the positive results of the economic policies from the past two years.”

Other key statistics from this month’s report include:

• In the past 12 months, all but four states (Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico and Nevada) have added private sector jobs, as the nascent recovery in the labor market has reached each region of the country. During this period, California (258,400), Texas (228,400), and Pennsylvania (110,800) achieved the largest gains in private sector employment.

• Thirty-four states added private sector jobs in February. South Carolina, which was hit hard by the recession and continues to face double-digit unemployment, recorded the largest expansion of private sector payrolls in percent terms (1.2 percent), followed by Delaware (1.0 percent), and Alaska (0.9 percent). 

The report, entitled “Understanding the Economy: State-by-State Snapshots,” features key economic statistics for each state. The report is the third edition of 2011 released by the Chairman-designate of the JEC and uses recently released state-level data to explain how the economic recovery is unfolding in each state.

To read the executive summary of the report, which includes the figures and charts, click here.
To see individual state snapshots, 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