US by State – The unemployment rate before and after the great recession

• Even before the recession, there was a huge range in unemployment rates among states.
• Most of the dozen states that have seen their unemployment rates fall since before the recession have benefited from the recent boom in the oil and gas business.
• Many of the states where the unemployment rate is much higher than it was before the recession were particularly hard hit by the housing bust. (While Georgia was not home to an especially large housing bubble, the state did rely heavily on construction jobs during the boom.)

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at  The Unemployment Rate In Every State, Before And After The Great Recession : Planet Money : NPR.