I once said that if I had to marry a search engine, I would be willing to make a commitment to Google. For some reason, people thought I was speaking hyperbolically, but I was not. (Sorry, Jill.)

If that sounds crazy, consider:

google unemployment

Behold, Google’s display of state-level trends in unemployment! (Go play with it; it’s fun.)

I know, I know, it’s no big thing. Google has all kinds of stuff like this and the data are derived from some other source. (From the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, in this case.) But that’s what kills me: it’s so clear and easy-to-use and, well, beautiful. I love it.

And holy cow, is Oregon’s employment situation ugly.

H/t to my BlueOregon