Wachovia report: Florida hit harder by recession - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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Florida went into the recession nine months aheade of the rest of theUnited States, and excessese in housing and commercial real estate are considerabl worse than the nation as a whole, the report Statewide, the median salesw price of existing homes is down about 45 percenyt from the peak of the housing boom in Novemberr 2005, but the drop in the Tampa Bay area is even steeperd at about 60 percent. Employment conditions continusto deteriorate, the report says. The state’s unemployment rate is expected to top out arounds11 percent, Wachovia projects, with a loss of 720,00o0 jobs, including 430,000 jobs lost this year.
reported 137 layofcf events during thefirsty quarter, more than double the previoues period. Job losses are heaviest in industries with direct ties to thebuildingg boom, including construction and Wachovia said. Wachovia estimates Floridians saw a net lossof $1.2 trillio in household wealth during 2008 with about two-thirdsz of that drop occurrintg in financial assets.