Alan Berube, Brookings -- The Great Recession created some of the toughest employment conditions that American workers experienced in the postwar period. The economy overall shed 8.7 million jobs in 2008 and 2009, and the unemployment rate reached a 25-year high of 10 percent in 2009. That year, more than 14 million Americans were looking for work but unable to find it, more than double the number before the recession started.

Pioneer Press -- Academics and others have some smart advice that leaders in the east metro should consider when it comes to turning "clusters" of business activity into economic advantages. A two-day conference last week hosted by the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Affairs outlined a cluster-based approach to economic development and growth, and launched a new online mapping tool -- at clustermapping.us. Lee Munnich, a senior fellow at the Humphrey School, cites key clusters we in St. Paul and the east metro should bear in mind:

Kevin Karner, Minnesota Daily -- Academics, business leaders and federal officials gathered at the University of Minnesota last week to celebrate the release of an online tool that lets users visualize where businesses cluster in specific areas. The two-day event, called “Mapping the Midwest’s Future,” was held at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs and featured discussions about the University’s role in economic development and in researching industry clusters, or geographic concentrations of related companies or organizations.

James Warden, Finance and Commerce -- Worries about water shortages are already affecting companies’ decisions about where to locate and what technology to invest in, Ecolab CEO Doug Baker said Tuesday during a conference at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Baker pointed to the St. Paul-based company he heads as an example. Ecolab, one of Minnesota’s largest water technology companies, needs to build a new facility in the Texas or Louisiana area.

James Warden, Finance and Commerce -- Minnesota and other states need to abandon conventional economic development strategies and instead zero in on sectors in which they have a competitive advantage and an established industry, speakers said Monday during a conference at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs. A cluster approach brings focus to economic development efforts that are often disconnected from the realities on the ground, said Michael Porter, a Harvard Business School professor who led the cluster mapping effort for the U.S.

Ever notice how businesses in the same industry tend to clump together in one city or state? Take the auto industry in Detroit, for example, insurance in Connecticut, or medical technology in Minnesota. Economists and policymakers often take special note of these groups of related businesses. That's because they're linked to local jobs and higher salaries. Academics call them industry clusters, and they're the subject of a conference this week at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Tom Crann caught up with Lee Munnich, a senior fellow at the Humphrey School.

Greene County Daily World -- Jobs are returning to rural Indiana, but a new Indiana State University report suggests there may not be enough skilled workers to fill them. Many low-skilled jobs that had sustained Indiana for years have disappeared and are not expected to return, the report said, and workers especially hard hit by the bursting of the housing bubble -- in such fields as construction, finance and real estate -- may need to adjust their career aspirations.

Saleha Riaaz, Digital by Default -- techUK has published its manifesto titled ‘Securing our Digital Future: the techUK manifesto for growth and jobs 2015-2020, where it urges politicians and policy-makers to recognise the critical significance of the global digital revolution. Here is our pick of the five most important recommendations in the manifesto.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet today announced the SBA’s support of four new Regional Innovation Clusters, adding to its portfolio of high-performing regional innovation networks across the country. “Clusters are public-private partnerships that are driving innovation and job creation in our most promising regional hubs for innovation,” Contreras-Sweet said.

Adam Belz -- Michael Porter was in the Twin Cities on Monday talking about regional clusters, American stagnation and the country's failed economic development efforts. He was helping roll out Cluster Mapping, which he, the U.S. Department of Commerce and many others hope will be a tool for better economic development policy. For the purposes of this blog, here are five takeaways from Porter's presentation, and from the data:

1.  Most Americans are struggling in the economy and it's not because of the recession.