Economic Stress Index Continues Strong in the United States

Written by Adam Peck Category: Nursing Homes January 17th, 2013 4 min read

California ranked third in the country in December for economic stress based on unemployment, foreclosure and bankruptcy rates, reports the Associated Press.The wire service analyzed 3,141 counties to come up with its Economic Stress Index.

AP said that in December the country hit its highest stress levels since the recession officially began in December 2007. The average county score was 10.8, up from 10.2 in November. An area is considered stressed if the score exceeds 11.

California registered an economic stress score of 16.25. Nevada had the highest score at 21.08 based on having the worst foreclosure and bankruptcy rates and second-worst unemployment rate. Michigan was second with a score of 17.43.

The one bit of good news was that California was the only one of the top five states whose stress rate didn’t increase from November to December.

And the least-stressed state? North Dakota with a score of 4.99.

The AP’s Economic Stress Index found that the average county’s score in December was 10.8. That’s a sharp jump from the 10.2 reading in November. The previous worst reading since the recession began in December 2007 was 10.3 in March 2009.

The index calculates a score from 1 to 100 based on a county’s unemployment, foreclosure and bankruptcy rates. A higher score indicates more economic stress. Under a rough rule of thumb, a county is considered stressed when its score exceeds 11.

Nearly 45 percent of the nation’s 3,141 counties were deemed stressed in December. That compares with less than 39 percent in the previous month.

Nevada was again the most economically distressed state in December, with a Stress score of 21.08. It had the nation’s worst foreclosure and bankruptcy rates and second-worst unemployment rate.

It was followed by Michigan (17.43), California (16.25), Florida (15.78) and Illinois (14.12). All except California saw their Stress score rise from November to December.

North Dakota (4.99) was again the least-stressed state in December. Next were South Dakota (5.47), Nebraska (5.63), Vermont (7.14) and Montana (7.71). Still, each saw its Stress score worsen from November to December.

The leading energy-producing states remained economically healthier than the nation as a whole. But they suffered the biggest jump in economic stress during the second half of 2009. These states had previously managed to sidestep the worst of the economy.

No longer. Alaska’s 21-year streak of job growth ended late last year, when it lost 2,100 jobs. Alaska’s Stress score rose from 8.37 in December 2008 to 9.95 in December 2009.

A downturn in energy exploration dragged Wyoming into a recession last year, more than a full year after the national recession start.

Wyoming’s Stress score doubled from 4.16 to 8.33 in the year that ended in December, driven by higher unemployment. The loss of high-paying mining jobs has been especially painful in the nation’s least-populous state.

Wyoming avoided the foreclosure crisis suffered by Sun Belt states. But residential building permits have shrunk to a level not seen in a decade.

Montana has ranked consistently among the least economically stressed states in the AP index. Yet it’s begun to show cracks. The state’s wood-products industry has been declining. And the closing of a Smurfit-Stone linerboard mill at the end of December was a blow to the Missoula area. Each job paid an average $70,000 a year.

Montana’s Stress score rose from 6.04 in December 2008 to 7.71 in December 2009. The state suffered housing price declines, a sluggish mining sector and sharp drop in overtime pay for workers, said Patrick Barkey, director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana.

In the past six months, foreclosure rates have risen fastest in a stretch of Western counties extending from Montana to Arizona. Foreclosures also have surged in manufacturing counties in the industrial Midwest, parts of Florida and metro Atlanta.

“Consistently high unemployment continues to feed into the foreclosure problem, indicates Los Angeles Bankruptcy Attorney Steven C. Peck. “We’ve already got significant foreclosures taking place already. Now, more traditional ones are taking place because one or more household members have lost their jobs.”

Bankruptcy rates in the past six months have grown fastest in Nevada, Arizona, California and Utah.

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Written by Adam Peck

Expertise: Personal Injury

Adam J. Peck, ESQ is a principal with Peck Law Group, APC. In 2008, Mr. Adam Peck received his Juris Doctorate from Whittier Law School where he graduated Cum Laude. His practice is primarily dedicated to representing Elders, Dependent Adults, along with their loved ones and family members, who have suffered horrific personal injuries.