The US Northeast had weathered the Great Recession a bit better than the rest of the nation. In particular the region’s labor market wasn’t hit as hard. The unemployment rate did not rise above 9%, while the national rate was hovering around 10%. Part of the reason for this difference is that the Northeast’s exposure to housing jobs had been lower on a relative basis.
But as the unemployment rate fell nationally, the improvements in Northeast’s labor market did not keep up. The region’s unemployment rate is now at or even above the national level.
