An interactive map of vanishing employment across the US

A word of warning for all those who would read this. Employment is understood to be a lagging indicator in economic circles, and this principle is well reflected in the graph data. We now know that the recession started in Q4 07, but you do not see red in the data until '08.

Hence, it is perhaps better to read "X jobs created/lost nationwide since YYYY" as "We were creating/losing jobs at a rate of X per year in YYYY".

Why? The data represents the number of jobs lost or gained At That Point Since The Year before. I know it says it on the graph, but I find that this is easily overlooked.