Despite Decrease in Number of Jobless the Foreclosure Numbers Have Increased

Despite decrease in number of jobless the foreclosure numbers have increased according to Hardship Index. This is a year for elections. The lifeline of the party holding the reins ultimately depends on the economic health of the nation – at least that is the traditional wisdom. Within another six months the voters will cast their votes. At this juncture what is the complexion of the economy? It depends on who is measuring what?

Patchwork Nation has focused on 12 kinds of counties. Here two trends are noticeable from the latest figures available. Unemployment is decreasing – albeit slowly. But foreclosures are increasing. Thus the question being posed in capital letters is which one of these trends holds the key to failure or success?

The Economic Hardship Index collects various economic facts taking into account unemployment and foreclosure figures as well as gas prices. The index went up to touch 30.5 this May. It is an increase from 21.5 noted last April. It rose for all the types of communities from February to April. In some places the jump was rather sharp. Although the trends are evenly spaced across all the 12 community kinds there are sharp differences as to how these trends are causing ripples.

In the housing sector the counties that lean towards the Republican are enduring plenty of pain. The four types of community that saw the highest jump in foreclosures during February to April were the military centres, vacant localities, boom centres as well as evangelical epicenters. All these witnessed increases in foreclosure numbers by over 35% during this period.

None of the communities has been spared from this increase. Each type saw an increase by double digits in percentage excluding Tractor Country that was mainly rural and agricultural. Tractor County has been largely spared the battering from the recession.

Patchwork Nation has mainly been focusing in contrasting the various kinds of regions in the nation. This has lead to a lot of revelations whether in contrasts or in similarities.

Foreclosures are evenly spread out across all communities and this shows the depth of the housing trouble. There are differences with some communities doing better. The rates here are less than 1,000 but it is disturbing in those places where the numbers are high. It shows that the road ahead is long before the housing market will stabilize.

Original:  Despite Decrease in Number of Jobless the Foreclosure Numbers Have Increased