Emerging from a recession
As the Atlanta region emerges from the worst downturn in our lifetimes, it is still a wounded economy, more so than many of the cities with which it competes. Unemployment remains stubbornly high - employment peaked in 2007 and will not return to the same number of jobs until the end of 2014, by some forecasts.
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Metro unemployment rates
Monthly metro unemployment rates for June came out last week. They were bad news for nearly everybody, but for Atlanta more than most. Below are the annual unemployment rates for Atlanta and nine of its competitors. (2011 is represented by the report for June.) Click on the checkboxes next to each city to hide or view them.
Return to peak employment
Different metro areas crashed into the recession at different points and are recovering at different rates. Metro Atlanta will return to its peak employment level of 2007 later than nearly all its competitors.
Job losses
These numbers show the loss of jobs from peak employment in the above graph to the recession low. Cities will have to regain these jobs before returning to peak.
10-year job growth rate
Some of metro Atlanta’s competitors suffered heavy job losses, as Atlanta did, during the past decade. But many others had substantial gains in jobs from 2001 to 2010, in spite of the recession.
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