Job totals trail pre-recession levels in 10 US states

Ten U.S. states still have not regained all the jobs they lost in the Great Recession, even after six and a half years of recovery, while many more have seen only modest gains.

The figures help illustrate the uneven nature of the economic rebound since the Great Recession ended in June 2009. They also suggest why many Americans feel the improvement has passed them by.

Wyoming had 3 percent fewer jobs last month than it did in December 2007, when the recession began, the Labor Department says. That is the biggest percentage decline. Alabama's job total trails its pre-recession level by 2.7 percent, followed by New Mexico, where job totals are 2.6 percent lower.