As Matt Yglesias reported just a few minutes ago, the US in May hit the number of jobs it had prior to the recession. That's great news, but it only means we've climbed out of a massive hole. Had job growth continued unabated instead of being tanked by the recession, there would be millions more jobs, the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute reports today:
So what it means to hit that prerecession peak is to start back at zero, after six years. That's a very long time to have waited, and it means we would have otherwise been way better off now than prior to the recession...possibly, better off to the tune of 7 million jobs, in fact.
Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?
Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple of big issues with relying on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on:
First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.
Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. And we can’t do that if we have a paywall.
So even though advertising is still our biggest source of revenue, we also seek grants and reader support. (And no matter how our work is funded, we have strict guidelines on editorial independence.)
If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today? Any amount helps.
Yes, I'll give $5/month
Yes, I'll give $5/month
We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and
Google Pay. You can also contribute via