“The U.S. economy last month finally recovered all the jobs lost in the 2007-2009 recession. But it’s been an uneven recovery, leaving two-thirds of states still short of their peak for total payrolls.

“Seventeen states plus the District of Columbia had more jobs in May than their peaks before or during the recession. Seasonally adjusted total nonfarm payrolls were still below their previous peaks in 33 states plus Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands,according to figures released Friday by the Labor Department.

“The patchwork recovery in employment reflects slow and uneven economic growth nationwide since the recession ended five years ago. U.S. economic output had returned to pre-recession levels by the end of 2010. But it wasn’t until May that payrolls finally hit a new record of 138.5 million — and that didn’t make up for population growth in the intervening years.

“Millions of Americans have moved in search of work as some state economies rebounded faster than others. Texas firms have added more than 1.3 million jobs since nonfarm employment in the state bottomed out in December 2009. Michigan, on the other hand, is down nearly 567,000 jobs since payrolls peaked in April 2000, though the Great Lake State has added about 295,000 jobs since March 2010.”

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