Over the recovery, as
is typical, a few indicators have accounted for the bulk of the increase in the LMCI. In the first
two years of the recovery, the insured unemployment rate (the green portion of the bars) made
a large contribution to the improvement in the LMCI, reflecting a substantial slowing in layoffs;
this contribution has since diminished. Gains in private payroll employment (the blue portion of
the bars) and declines in the unemployment rate (the pink portion of the bars) have been consistent
contributors to the improvement, although more in some years than in others. In 2014,
private employment and the unemployment rate have accounted for most of the improvement
in the LMCI.