Wachovia report: Florida hit harder by recession - Jacksonville Business Journal:

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Florida went into the recession nine months ahead of the rest of theUnites States, and excesses in housin g and commercial real estate are considerably worser than the nation as a whole, the reporyt says. Statewide, the median sale price of existing homes is down about 45 percent from the peak of the housingf boom inNovember 2005. Employment conditions continureto deteriorate, the report says. The state’s unemploymen rate is expected to top out aroundc11 percent, Wachovia projects, with a loss of 720,000 including 430,000 jobs lost this year. reported 137 layofc events during the first more than double theprevious period.
Job losses are heaviesg in industries with direct ties to thebuildinh boom, including construction and manufacturing, Wachoviza said. Wachovia estimates Floridiands saw a net lossof $1.2 trillio in household wealth during 2008 with about two-thirds of that drop occurrinbg in financial assets.