An American History

THE OBAMA PRESIDENCY ★^1141

THE OBAMA PRESIDENCY

The Continuing Economic Crisis

Although the recession officially ended in mid- 2009, economic growth was so
anemic that unemployment remained stubbornly high throughout Obama’s
first term in office.
The deep recession and feeble recovery exacerbated structural trends long
under way. Manufacturing employment, which once offered a route into the
middle class for those (mostly men) with limited educations, rebounded from
its low point of 2009 but remained several million jobs lower than in 2000. Job
growth was concentrated at either the high or low end of the pay scale. The
financial sector laid off hundreds of thousands of workers, but the incomes of

What were the major challenges of Obama’s first term?

40%30%

20%

10%

Percent of population below

the poverty line, 2014

0

0

100 miles

100 kilometers

0

0

400 miles

400 kilometers

0

0

250

250

500 miles

500 kilometers

PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION BELOW THE

POVERTY LINE, 2014

A map showing the distribution of poverty in the United States. The darker the color, the
higher the percentage of families living below the poverty line. Areas with concentrations of
African- Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans, along with portions of Appalachia inhab-
ited by whites, have the highest poverty rates.