While economic stress nationwide dropped to its lowest point of
the year, San Benito County remained No. 5 on the Associated
Press’s list of most economically stressed counties in the United
States.
While economic stress nationwide dropped to its lowest point of the year, San Benito County remained No. 5 on the Associated Press’s list of most economically stressed counties in the United States.
California overall was the second-most stressed state in March, the most recent month for which data is available, behind Nevada. The rest of the states in the top five were Florida, Michigan and Arizona, though sharp gains in tourism has helped stress decline sharply in Nevada and Florida over the past six months.
The AP’s Economic Stress Index assigns a score from 1 to 100 based on unemployment, foreclosures and bankruptcy rates in counties with a population of at least 25,000.
San Benito had a score of 25.20 in March, which was down .03 points month-to-month and 1.31 points from this time a year ago. A higher score indicates more stress, and a county is considered stressed when its score exceeds 11. By comparison, San Benito’s score was 9 in October 2007, when economists say the recession began.
Unemployment locally stood at 20.6 percent in March, which was unchanged from February and 14.2 percent higher than the rate at the recession’s start. Foreclosures were up slightly month-to-month in San Benito County, though down since last year. Bankruptcy rates dropped by .05 percent from February and are down .03 percent from this time last year.
Nationally, according to the AP, more than 85 percent of the nation’s 3,141 counties and every state but two – Louisiana and South Dakota – enjoyed better conditions in March than in February. The average county’s Stress score was 10.5 in March, the lowest level since December and half a point lower than February’s number.
North Dakota remained the least economically-stressed state with a score of 4.89 in March, followed by Nebraska (5.7), South Dakota (6.27), Vermont (6.51) and New Hampshire (6.85).
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
