The state map above is featured in the U.S. News and World Report article titled “North Dakota, Alaska Job Markets Fueled By Oil And Gas Boom,” and estimates how long it will take before the number of jobs in a state returns to the pre-recession peak level.  Alaska and North Dakota both completely recovered from the effects of the recession by early 2010, and have current employment levels of 3% and 14% above their respective December 2007 levels.Texas recovered all of its lost jobs by the fall of 2011, and now has 2% more jobs than December 2007.  Louisiana employment has returned to pre-recession levels this year. What do those four states have in common?  Quoting from the article:

“North Dakota, Alaska, Texas, and Louisiana may not seem to have much in common geographically or culturally, but they all are boosted by a booming oil industry.

Energy is responsible for these states’ job recoveries “to a very large degree,” says Jim Diffley, senior director of U.S. regional services at IHS Global Insight. “In North Dakota and Alaska, the energy sector is predominately very much the single most important factor.”

Meanwhile, states at the less fortunate end of the spectrum tend to have their own commonalities: continuing problems in their housing markets, meaning depressed construction employment. IHS’s analysis predicts that states in the West and Southeast will largely have to wait until 2014 or later before their jobs figures recover, with some states, like Arizona, Florida, and Nevada, having to wait until at least 2016.

According to the analysis, Nevada, Michigan, and Rhode Island may have the longest to wait before recovery, with their returns to their former job levels expected after 2017.”