I'm not about to defend the likes of Reid, but some perspective on the hole that was dug during the previous administration (and inherited by the current) is needed.
The below chart shows the job losses from the start of the employment recession, in terms of percentage (as opposed to the "number" of jobs lost). 0% loss on the chart represents when employment was the highest and then declined for each of the recessions indicated.
For the current recession, employment peaked in December 2007 and we are now 26 months out. The current employment recession is by far the worst since WWII in percentage terms, and 2nd worst in terms of the unemployment rate (only early '80s recession with a peak of 10.8 percent was worse).
