The real estate market in California seems to be the biggest drag on the economy. Short sales and foreclosures are still at record numbers and continue to lead the pack when it
comes to the numbers. Home construction has taken a big hit and consumers are still being quite frugal with their money. California is also experiencing a decrease in international
trade and the state continues to suffer from a massive deficit.
In the United States, unemployment fell under 9 1/2 percent and registered as the first decline since April of last year. Job losses also decreased to under a quarter of a million. These
numbers not only beat expectations, but also was the smallest loss in more than a year.
Experts are predicting more turmoil in the future, with unemployment continuing to rise. Even as the economy is showing signs of getting better, most of the time, employers will not
begin hiring again until they are completely convinced that the recovery is really at hand.
In the months of March through May, we seemed to be on the verge of becoming more optimistic, as job losses were on the decline. But since then job losses have been on the rise. Overall
California hit more than 11.5 percent unemployment. Many are predicting that unemployment will not stop until it reaches 13.5 percent in 2010.
Most of the downturn is being blamed on the housing market because California's real estate bubble was much bigger than others. Even with the latest numbers showing that the real estate
market, showing an nice increase in home sales and even construction, the experts are still not optimistic. Many areas are still down almost fifty percent compared to last year.
|
