With nationwide unemployment reaching close to 10%, there are few parts of the country that haven’t been seriously affected by job losses.  But booms and busts in the job market don’t hit everywhere at one.  To see how and where job losses have mushroomed in the past few years, check out The Geography of Jobs.

Using data for net change in jobs from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the map shows localized employment trends on a rolling 12-month basis, starting in 2004. Back then, job gains were popping up all over. In more recent months, you can see job losses grow. And grow. And grow.

It’s easy to see the rapid rise and fall of areas where new real estate construction blossomed, and then imploded with the collapse of home values and mortgage lending.  Areas like New York and Washington, DC were able to buck the trend until the bottom fell out of the financial markets.

To see the map in action, visit the website of the consulting firm Tip Strategies, Inc. which put it all together.