Most states are still more than two years away from returning to prerecession employment levels, according to a new analysis.
Only four states ”” Alaska, North Dakota, Texas, and Louisiana ”” have created enough jobs since the recovery to get back to where they were prior to the recession, according to economist Steven Frable of IHS Global Insight. All four of those states have benefited from an energy boom, and Louisiana was starting at a low level of employment after taking a major hit from Hurricane Katrina.