Rising Unemployment: A Precursor Of Recession? - research by Indiana Business Center, Indiana University - Brief Article

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), July, 2001

National unemployment statistics indicate that 15 states already are in recession and 12 others are very close, according to Morton J. Marcus, director of the Indiana Business Research Center in Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, Bloomington. Increased productivity led to economic prosperity nationally over the last decade, but he asserts that it has resulted in increased unemployment in several areas as well, which could be a strong indicator of recession.

States that are in recession are in almost every region of the nation, including Alabama, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia. States considered on the brink of recession include New York, Kentucky, Iowa, and New Mexico.

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"While there is no national recession, we should not be deluded into thinking that the still-positive national condition describes all of our diverse states. These statistics deal not with the output of the country, but with the lives of people. We are trying to put a face on the economic reality of the country? Marcus points out.