Industrial Production Remains Well Below Pre-Recession Peak

For awhile now, we've (unfortunately) followed up every non-farm payroll report with the "scariest jobs chart ever."

Furnished by Calculated Risk's Bill McBride, it shows how far below current employment levels remain from their pre-recession peak.

As it happens, McBride also publishes a similar chart tracking how far industrial production has recovered.

Unfortunately, like employment, we remain a decent way off from pre-recession levels. McBride:

Industrial production was off 16.9% at the trough in June 2009, and was initially one of the stronger performing sectors during the recovery. However industrial production is still 1.7% below the pre-recession peak. This indicator might return to the pre-recession peak in in 2014.

And here's the chart:

It's further evidence that talk of a recovery in manufacturing remains suspect at best.

And for context, here's McBride's chart for real personal income ex-transfer payments, which has basically completely recovered: