Will the recovery from the current U.S. recession be "jobless," as happened after the 2001 downturn?

It depends on whether construction and financial services start hiring, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

During the 2001 slowdown, half of job losses were in manufacturing, and there was no employment rebound afterward because the country was shifting to a service-based economy.

In the current recession, layoffs have been more dispersed, with construction and financial services taking the brunt. Manufacturing jobs accounted for only one-fourth of the losses.

Still unknown is the extent to which these sectors will recover and rehire workers or if these workers will be forced to look elsewhere for new jobs. The latter scenario would suggest the possibility of another jobless recovery, according to this analysis by St. Louis Fed economists.