The industry still had 489,000 jobs in January, but the employment picture is clearly worsening.

"This is the bleakest employment picture I've ever seen," he said.

Just changing the time period can change the whole employment picture.

In both, he said, the employment picture was seen as bright.

The employment picture for workers in general looks continues to look promising over the near term.

Even with a relatively firm employment picture, real wages are on the decline.

Perhaps, the economists say, larger forces are at work in the county, causing the employment picture to remain bleak.

But the report of strong growth a month ago set off hopes that the employment picture was finally brightening.

On the surface, the employment picture is more encouraging than almost anyone expected.

Swezey's will provide an additional boost for the city's employment picture.