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North Carolina rank: 30 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate August 2013 2.6% Unemployment Rate 1.5% 8.7% year ago 2.8% 2.9% 9.6% year-over-year change -8.3% -48.4% -9.4% Top County WashiNgToN CouNTy 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate August 2013 3.5% 12.8% year ago 4.3% 13.0% year-over-year change -18.1% -1.2% Top Core-Based statistical area heNdersoN, NC 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate August 2013 7.0% 2.4% year ago 6.8% 3.5% year-over-year change 3.9% -31.6% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the August 2013 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary August 2013 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Data & Analytics. IN THE NEWS Wells Fargo: An Assessment of the North Carolina Economy It's been a long road to recovery in North Carolina, as the state has struggled to add jobs and bounce back following the economic downturn, according to the economics group at Wells Fargo Securities. There are now signs the economy there is on the mend as key growth drivers, the Wells economist say, such as manufacturing exports and a stronger housing market recovery help to support growth. Yet, even with the moderate pace of economic activity, the Wells economic team warns many challenges remain facing the Tarheel State, ranging from skills disconnect between the labor force and the skills demanded by firms to the need to put policies in place that are supportive of the state's future economic activity. "The key for state policymakers today is to focus on the long term, as opposed to the short term, factors to support growth," the economists stated in a regional report released last month. "Through a focus on the state's labor market, ensuring a competitive business 88 climate, promoting entrepreneurship based on innovation, and investing in targeted infrastructure projects that support economic activity, policymakers can provide the tools needed to establish a solid foundation for the state's future economic growth." One key sector helping perpetuate growth in North Carolina has been the gradual housing market recovery, according to Wells Fargo's economists. The slow pace of the housing recovery is tied to the different characteristics of this recovery, with a heavier emphasis on multifamily housing, they note. In part, this reflects a change in the character of buyers. From the early 1980s on, the median square footage of homes rose but the average family size declined, Wells notes in its report. This suggests there may be a mismatch of smaller North Carolina families that have found themselves in homes that may be too large. As a result, this economic expansion has witnessed a rise in the share of multifamily housing starts reflecting a combination of economic, demographic, and lifestyle changes, the Wells economists explained. They added that this rise in multifamily housing has helped boost apartment market rents in several metro areas around the state in addition to supporting further construction activity. rank: 47 Foreclosure Rate August 2013 0.5% Unemployment Rate 0.8% 3.0% year ago 0.7% 1.0% 3.2% year-over-year change -24.6% -20.1% -6.3% Top County RaNsom CouNTy 90+ Day Delinquency Rate August 2013 0.4% Foreclosure Rate 2.1% year ago 1.2% 2.8% year-over-year change -65.4% -26.8% Top Core-Based statistical area JamesTowN, ND 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate August 2013 0.9% 1.2% year ago 0.3% 1.2% year-over-year change 183.8% rank: 16 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate August 2013 2.8% Unemployment Rate 2.8% 7.3% year ago 3.1% 4.3% 7.2% year-over-year change -9.6% -34.1% 1.4% Top County AshTAbulA COunTy 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate August 2013 3.5% 5.3% year ago 3.4% 6.7% year-over-year change 2.5% -20.3% Top Core-based statistical Area AshTAbulA, Oh 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate August 2013 3.5% 5.3% year ago 3.4% 6.7% year-over-year change 2.5% -20.3% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the August 2013 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary August 2013 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Data & Analytics. IN THE NEWS North Dakota 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Ohio -4.0% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the August 2013 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary August 2013 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Data & Analytics. ESOP Celebrates 20th Anniversary As Empowering and Strengthening Ohio's People (ESOP) celebrates 20 years of helping people improve their lives and communities, the organization says its focus is on building partnerships for economic empowerment. In conjunction with its 20-year anniversary, ESOP announced awards for two longtime partners that help the group foster the economic empowerment of disenfranchised communities. The inaugural recipient of the Inez Tillman Killingsworth Community Leadership Award, named after ESOP's, late founder and leader, is Third Federal Savings & Loan. ESOP says under the leadership of chairman and CEO Marc Stefanski, Third Federal Savings has demonstrated a commitment to Ohio homeowners, offering fair products, investing in communities, and maintaining its corporate headquarters in the Slavic Village neighborhood where it was founded since 1938.

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