The U.S. economy is recovering from one of the longest and deepest recessions
since the end of World War II (WWII). Virtually no area of the economy remained unscathed from the December 2007–June 2009 recession,1 particularly
the labor market. Nonfarm payroll employment, measured by the Current Employment
Statistics (CES) program, peaked in January 2008, 1 month after the peak in the business cycle.2 After relatively modest job losses in early 2008, the losses increased sharply in the latter half of the year, and declines spread beyond traditionally cyclical industries.