U.S. State and Regional Economic Impact of the 2008/2009 Recession

This paper identifies the states that suffered the largest job losses and the states whose employment levels suffered the least during the 2008/2009 recession. State-by-state performance varied widely during this downturn, with Nevada having the largest percentage job loss, a drop in employment of 13.11 percent of its December 2007 employment level. At the other extreme North Dakota had an employment gain of 1.24 percent of its December 2007 employment level. In addition, this paper also provides insight into why some states fared so poorly and other states suffered so little during this downturn. The results suggest strong regional differences between the states, with the states in the New England Census Region showing weaker relative job performance and states in the Southwest, Rocky Mountain, and Far West Census Regions showing stronger job growth