Chart: nonfarm payrolls (jobs)

Chart of the Day

Today, the Labor Department reported that nonfarm payrolls (jobs) increased by 290,000 in April -- the largest increase in four years. Today's chart puts the latest data into perspective by comparing job losses following the beginning of the current economic recession (solid red line) to that of the last recession (dashed gold line) and the average recession from 1950-1999 (dashed blue line). As today's chart illustrates, the current job market has suffered losses that are more than triple as much as what occurs at the lows of the average recession/job loss cycle. However, today's relatively positive jobs report provides an early indication that the current job market is moving into a phase of expansion.

Notes:
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