Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday that the recession is “very likely over,” offering his most explicit endorsement that a recovery is under way. But the pain likely will persist, especially for the nearly 15 million unemployed Americans.

“It’s still going to feel like a very weak economy for some time because many people will still find that their job security and their employment status is not what they wish it was,” Bernanke said.

Here’s what some Indiana and national statistics looked like during this recession, and where they stand now.

$1,000: Amount the average Indiana home price dropped from July 2008 to July 2009, when it stood at $115,000. We have a ways to go to recover in home sales: 6.3 percent fewer existing homes sold in Central Indiana in July 2009, compared with a year ago.

$4.14 a gallon: That’s how much gas cost a year ago today in Indianapolis, when it hit its peak. Tuesday, a gallon could be had for about $2.45. Gasoline prices have been sneaking up, though, which could cause consumers to scrimp on other purchases.

150,300: Number of Indiana jobs lost from July 2008 to July 2009. Unemployment in Indiana soared from 4.5 percent in 2007 before the recession began to 10.7 percent in June. It held roughly steady in July; August’s rate is due Friday.

1,261,977: Total vehicles sold in the U.S. last month , a 1 percent increase over 2008 and a whopping 10.6 percent increase over the previous month. Analysts attributed the change to the Cash for Clunkers program.

203.87: Bloomberg’s Indiana Index, a measure of the value of 55 Indiana companies, hit its recession low on March 9, the same day the Dow hit 6,547, its lowest close since December 2007. On Tuesday, the Dow closed at 9,683, a new high for the year, and the Indiana Index closed at 333.79.

2.7%: Increase last month in U.S. retail sales. That number, reported Tuesday, was the largest gain since January 2006. And the sales were up even when one-time boosts such as Cash for Clunkers were taken out, easing fears that the auto-sales bump would come at the expense of other goods.

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; National Association of Realtors; Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis; U.S. Commerce Department; The Associated Press and The Washington Post. Research by David Savka and Tom Spalding.