Bill McBride, writer for the blog Calculated Risk, compiled employment statistics from every post WWII recession and displayed them on a graph.  The chart illustrates the severity of the current recession and the enduring gap in employment.  It took 46 months for employment to return to levels seen in the month prior to the 2001 recession – the longest period of time following a recession.  Employment recovered in 31 months during the 1990 recession, and after a more than 5% drop in employment during the 1948 recession, employment losses were cut after just 22 months. The U.S. has experienced a drop in almost 6.5% employment during the current recession, and it’s been over 53 months since the beginning of the recession.  Employment has risen considerably since it bottomed out in the 25-month mark, and it is currently about 3.5% below the level prior to the downturn.