US Jobs Lost and Gained by Sector, 2007-2010. Jacob Goldstein / npr.org from BLS data

By Jacob Goldstein
October 8, 2010 The recession ended more than a year ago, but the jobs picture is still very bleak. There are about 130 million non-farm jobs in this country, according to the employment numbers out this morning. That’s down from nearly 138 million in December of ’07, when the recession began. Those job losses have been spread unevenly around the economy, as the graph above makes clear. Here’s a closer look at some of the categories. Manufacturing was losing jobs even before the recession began — and the sector got hammered in ’08 and ’09, before stabilizing in the past year.
 Construction was, of course, at the heart of the boom and bust. The industry lost a ton of jobs in the early part of the recession. In the past year, the decline continued, albeit at a slower pace, with a loss of about 200,000 jobs since Sept. of ’09. … For more: Here’s a complete list of the latest job numbers, by sector. There’s a huge amount of data — going back further, and in much more detail — available here. …

We’ve Lost 8 Million Jobs. Here’s A Closer Look.