Recession's job losses devastate some states, spare others.

The recession of the early 1990s affected states very unevenly. It lasted longer and caused much deeper unemployment in some than in others. In many states, in fact, there was hardly any sign of the recession. Although the national recession officially lasted from July 1990 to March 1991, it began earlier (January 1989) and lasted longer (October 1993) in some states.

In 10 states employment declined more than 5 percent from peak to trough. Massachusetts led the pack with 12.4 percent, followed by Connecticut, 12.2 percent; Rhode Island, 11.3 percent; New Hampshire, 10.8 percent; New Jersey, 8.6 percent; New York, 7.2 percent; Maine, 7.0 percent; Vermont, 6.4 percent; Maryland, 5.7 percent; and California, 5.1 percent.

By contrast, employment in many states followed a continual upward trend throughout the 58-month period. Although every state had at least one month of employment decline, 22 states in the Plains, Rocky Mountains, South and Southwest never saw employment drop more than 1 percent.

The strength of the recovery after the unemployment trough varied considerably. Idaho and Utah led the nation, with gains in jobs of 13 percent and 10.4 percent respectively. In 16 other states (Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North...