The size of the workforce earning wages for Social Security purposes went into multi-year depressions since 1990 three times: 1990, 2001 and 2007.
The 1990 depression saw the workforce shrink by 1% and not recover in size until the third following year.
The 2001 depression saw the workforce shrink by 0.4% and not recover in size until the third following year.
The 2007 depression saw the workforce shrink by 3.3% and as of 2011 still has not recovered, four years later. The depression in workers through 2011 is 4.19 million, and since the bottom in 2010 982,000 workers have been added through 2011. 2012 figures will be available in mid-October 2013.
The depression in jobs designated "usually full-time" is 5.35 million, 4.3% below its 2007 peak.
