WWW.GOLDENCARDS.RU - ПРОДАЖА ПРОПУСКОВ В METRO CASH & CARRY!

2% for the fourth quarter was the highest among the country's large population centers and helped push Fresno into the 20 large metros with the poorest economic performance during the quarter, according to the latest Brookings Institution... The slippage of the Central California region in the rankings suggests that economic growth in other areas of the country is outpacing Fresno and the Valley. Fresno was near the bottom of the nation's 100 largest metro areas in its recovery from the recession by the end of 2011, a new economic report shows today -- a stark reminder of how hard the Valley was hit. The Brookings study evaluates gains or losses in employment, changes in the unemployment rate, changes in the value of goods and services produced in the area, and housing-price changes. The bleak figures, however, need not be a harbinger of gloom, said Michael Dozier, executive director of the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, an organization of public officials and business leaders that aims to address the... "Employment rebounded from its low point in 94 of the 100 largest metropolitan areas by the fourth quarter of 2011," Wial and research assistant Siddarth Kulkarni wrote, "but only 25 gained back more than half of the jobs they lost between their... "We can create wealth within the region through agriculture rather than diversifying away from it. ". Dozier said economic development officials up and down the Valley want to draw attention to the potential for growth in manufacturing and... The Brookings report said one factor common to many of the lowest-performing metros was that they were hit the hardest when the housing market collapsed. 3% from the housing bubble's peak in the fourth quarter of 2006, compared to an average price decline of just under 30% across the largest metro areas. The Fresno metropolitan area, which includes all of Fresno County, was joined by Modesto, Sacramento and Stockton among the 20 weakest performers in the economic recovery. "Unemployment rates were generally highest in the California, Nevada and Florida metropolitan areas that suffered severe house price declines during and after the recession," the report states. "What we're seeing is that Fresno's unemployment rate is not coming down very quickly, and that's what's contributing to the low recovery ranking," said Howard Wial, a Brookings fellow and co-author of the report. A year ago, Fresno's economic performance in the fourth quarter of 2010, while feeble, was enough to rank it in the second-strongest tier of metro areas. "The truth is, there's a lot of money in agriculture and in the future of agriculture, if it's done right," he said. The Bakersfield metro area was the only Valley area to rank among the 20 strongest-performing areas. And because that trough came later than in other parts of the country, the Valley's housing market has had less time to recover. Home prices have rebounded by less than 1% since their recessionary trough -- estimated to have been the third quarter of last year in the Fresno market. He added that Fresno has experienced some growth in federal and state government jobs and manufacturing in the recovery, "and without them, Fresno would be doing far worse. By the second quarter of 2011, Fresno, Modesto, Stockton and Sacramento were among the bottom 20. In the meantime, agriculture remained stable -- proof, Dozier suggested, that efforts to wean the region's economy from its historic reliance on farming have been folly. The report shows that the housing price index in Fresno County fell by 53. The report shows that jobs are painfully slow to rebound across the country. The researchers also pointed to a correlation between the housing market and jobs. "Construction was the hardest hit of all the sectors here," he said. The figures for the Fresno market bear that out. "We were hit the most because we didn't do a good job of taking advantage of growth. At that time, no California metro areas were in the bottom 20. "Even the places that are ranked higher are not anything to write home about. "There is actual growth almost everywhere, but that growth is not rapid except in a very few places. "What they do is show us how much better things could be with all the resources we have. We should laugh at it and say, 'It just gives us that much more room to improve. Dozier agreed that housing was a major factor in Valley job woes. "When studies like these come out, it's not like they're telling us anything new," he said Tuesday. Growth for growth's sake is not sustainable. Fresno's unemployment rate of 16.