The Economy's Phantom Limb

The economy continues to add jobs at a steady pace and the Federal Reserve Board is considering its first interest rates hike since the beginning of the recession. But, new analysis by the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University shows that the effects of the Great Recession still linger in the form of 6.4 million jobs that were not created, including 3 million college jobs.

These missing jobs contribute to flat wages and slack labor markets. In order to recover these missing jobs by 2020, the economy needs to add 205,000 jobs per month.

Workers with a high school diploma or less continue to face a 3.4 million jobs gap compared to the number of jobs the economy would have created if the recession never happened.

However, many of the missing jobs would have gone to workers with at least some college education: 2 million jobs to workers with some college or an Associate’s degree and 1 million jobs to workers with a Bachelor’s degree.

About 8 million jobs were lost between 2007 and 2010. Since the jobs recovery began in 2010, the economy has created 10.6 million jobs – bringing total employment to 148.9 million jobs, which is 2.6 million more jobs in the economy than there were before the Great Recession.

But, had the recession never occurred and job creation continued at the same rate as in the years leading up to 2007, the economy would have created 9 million jobs, bringing total employment to 155.3 million by the end of 2015. And this means that 6.4 million jobs are still missing.

The report also finds that in order to sustain the job growth necessary to recover the missing jobs, the annual GDP growth rate must remain at 2 percent or higher. In addition, many workers have not found the stable jobs they seek.

The economy still has 2 million more part-time workers now than it did before the recession, and nearly a third of all workers now work in temporary, freelance or part-time jobs.

 Fast Facts

• Three million of the missing jobs include college jobs.
• The economy needs to add 205,000 jobs a month to recover the missing jobs by 2020.
• There are still 2 million more part-time workers today than before the recession.
• Nearly a third of all workers have jobs that are temporary, freelance or part-time.

Click here to download the full report.