Economic recovery underway? You make the call!

If one pays uncritical attention to the media today, there is ample reason to believe that the much desired economic "recovery" is underway, this despite information to the contrary.  Such information includes Wall Street Journal reporting regarding hiring ["Employers hold off on hiring" by Timothy Aeppel and Conor Dougherty], jobs ["Jobs data cloud recovery" by Conor Dougherty], and mortgage defaults yet to unravel ["U.S., lenders seek ways to head off mortgage default wave" by Jessica Holzer].  That a recovery could be happening with jobs still being lost, widespread hiring not occuring, and worries of still smoldering credit problems is extremely hard to imagine.  Yet that is exactly the notion that one hears a great deal about from mass media sources.  

If you are interested in, depend on, or derive a livelihood from business affairs in the U.S. today, you are entitled to good information as to if and when the much-desired economic recovery is evident.  And I am about to point you in the direction of exactly that--using government data.  It is a cliché to say that information is power.  Never the less the graphic I'll point you to today is compelling in its simplicity and points to an obvious conclusion by any reasonable person who understands that a jobless recovery is next to impossible to believe in.  

There is a private company in Texas that is a privately held Austin-based economic development consulting firm committed to providing quality solutions for public and private-sector clients--TIP Strategies, Inc. The firm’s primary focus is strategic economic development planning.  TIP Strategies has put together an ingenious graphic device that shows--over time--job growth and job losses in the U.S. from 2004 to the present.  The picture--as you can see for yourself--is still very bleak.  

Indeed, it would be an understatement to say that there is not much evidence of any job growth anywhere to speak of.  But check out the data--data that you've already paid for from the Bureau of Labor Statistics--for yourself.  

[Note:  In this graphic you will see is a dynamic device that shows jobs increase and shrinkage over time, from 2004 to a very recent period.  You can let the graphic "play" by itself or you can manually manipulate the time bar to your own preferences...if you are confused, first read the blurb "View Instructions" in the upper northwest quadrant of the "page."]

Here you go:  The Geography of Jobs.  After you've seen the numbers, you answer the question:  Is the economic recovery underway?   

To make sure you get a "tweet" with every new blog, follow "keithmurrayblog" on Twitter!  Think others might like to read this?  Re-TWEET it to your followers with the SHARE ARTICLE tab below!