--- description: The most depressing jobs graph in more than 60 years has finally kicked the bucket thanks to the latest jobs report title: This Frightening Jobs Graph Just Kicked the Bucket image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Single Most Depressing Thing About the Recession Has Just Been Put Out of Its Misery  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 6, 2014 3:37 PM CUT  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 6, 2014 3:37 PM CUT The economy gained 217,000 jobs in May, bringing the total number of workers back to its pre-recession peak and finally putting one of the glummest graphs of job creation out of its misery. The graph created by [Calculated Risk](http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2014/06/may-employment-report-217000-jobs-63.html "undefined"), below, shows that jobs in our current recession (the red line) took a longer and deeper dive than at any other point since WWII.  Now, with total employment 98,000 jobs higher than pre-recession levels, the red line is officially history, and hopefully won’t return any time soon. Not that total employment is the final measure of workforce well-being. After all, the population has grown alongside the job market. The percentage of the working age population in the workforce is still at a decades-long low-point, as Calculated Risk [shows](http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2014/06/may-employment-report-217000-jobs-63.html "undefined") compliments of another worrisome graph. There are still plenty of dipping lines to worry about yet.  Source: Calculated Risk ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2837936/us-economic-recession-graph/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2837936/us-economic-recession-graph/"},"headline":"The Single Most Depressing Thing About the Recession Has Just Been Put Out of Its Misery","datePublished":"2014-06-06T15:37:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:08:18.255Z","description":"The most depressing jobs graph in more than 60 years has finally kicked the bucket thanks to the latest jobs report","url":"https://time.com/2837936/us-economic-recession-graph/","keywords":["Recession","Economy","Employment","Unemployment","Job market"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2837936/us-economic-recession-graph/","name":"The Single Most Depressing Thing About the Recession Has Just Been Put Out of Its Misery"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"May Jobs Report: U.S. Economy Regains All Jobs Lost In Recession","description":"The American job market may finally be taking a sustained turn for the better. According to the Department of Labor’s latest jobs report, the U.S. economy added 217,000 jobs in May, and the unemployment rate stayed at 6.3 percent.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Wc5DO0bd/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-06-06T15:57:43.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Wc5DO0bd.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/2837936/us-economic-recession-graph/","duration":"PT1M52S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/2837936/us-economic-recession-graph/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```