Picture of the Day: Reality Check

Yes the jobs report on Friday was very good, but here is your cold-water moment: things are still historically awful.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Chart by Amanda Cox/New York Times.

Horizontal axis shows months. Vertical axis shows the ratio of that month’s nonfarm payrolls to the nonfarm payrolls at the start of recession. Note: Because employment is a lagging indicator, the dates for these employment trends are not exactly synchronized with National Bureau of Economic Research’s official business cycle dates.