The U.S. economy last month finally recovered all the jobs lost in the 2007-2009 recession. But it’s been an uneven recovery, leaving two-thirds of states still short of their peak for total payrolls.

Seventeen states plus the District of Columbia had more jobs in May than their peaks before or during the recession. Seasonally adjusted total nonfarm payrolls were still below their previous peaks in 33 states plus Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, according to figures released Friday by the Labor Department.

The patchwork recovery in employment reflects slow and uneven economic growth nationwide since the recession ended five years ago. U.S. economic output had returned to pre-recession levels by the end of 2010. But it wasn’t until May that payrolls finally hit a new record of 138.5 million — and that didn’t make up for population growth in the intervening years.