The US has lost more than 7 million private-sector jobs since the recession started. To make up for the job losses during this period and get the labor market back to the pre-recession level, it will take more than seven years, assuming each year the economy will be adding 2 million jobs.

If you sum up the job creation in the recent decade from 2000 to 2009, it’s estimated that we will end up with 1.7 million fewer jobs –call it “the lost decade of employment“.