How rising unemployment swept the country

Numbers are fine all by themselves, at least for data nerds like the folks at the Colorado Center on Law and Policy. But numbers are frequently better when they're displayed visually. A great demonstration of that dynamic comes from a new online map that uses color coding for all counties across the United States to show where unemployment hit first in the current recession and how it spread.

Props to my friend Pam Zubeck at the Colorado Springs Independent for calling this map to my attention.

By the way the folks over at Slate did a similar presentation last December. And don't forget the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute's long-term look at employment trends issued last month, the State of Working Colorado. Here's a screenshot from the map: