This map shows America’s real unemployment problem

[MindMover]

Every month, the Bureau of Labor Statistic releases their latest cut at the jobs data. And every month, we dutifully report the national unemployment rate, as if unemployment is a singular national phenomenon.

But it's not. America has one flag. But it doesn't have one unemployment rate, as this map from the BLS shows: Twmcort

What you're seeing there is average unemployment over the last year broken out by county. The differences between states and counties are tremendous. There are states in America that are enjoying genuinely good times. And then there are states with unemployment rates that, nationally, would be considered an emergency.

In Nebraska, for instance, the unemployment rate is 3.7 percent. That's lower than the national unemployment rate ever got during the roaring 90s.

http://www.vox.com/2014/5/2/5675238/this-map-shows-america-s-real-unemployment-problem

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[unblock]

1. i think this proves that the real job creators are tornados.

[TransitJohn]

2. It doesn't prove anything, except that people migrate to cities to find work. eom

n/t

[unblock]

4. yes. jobs created by tornados, clearly.

meanwhile, oceans are clearly job destroyers.

on edit, i'll add rivers. look at the mississippi. jobs clearly float downstream.

[Wounded Bear]

3. Notice that much of that map follows the population density...

Low pop density in the heartland has low unemployment, in general.

Also, Central California is in severe drought conditions, leading to loss of jobs in the agriculture that permeates the area.

A lot of the purple and red counties are shackled by RW wing-nuttery at the state and local levels, as well. Seel Northern Michigan, Appalacian Kentucky and stretches of the deep South.