MORE BAD NEWS (LOCAL)

The Phoenix area isn't doing very well, as Atrios noted, but the Baked Apple is in even worse shape.

Slump data: Phx. faring better than Old Pueblo
Tucson, Arizona Published: 05.10.2008
Arizona Daily Star

A report released this week by Moody's Economy.com said Tucson is not only in a recession, but it's in worse shape than Phoenix. The housing slump is creating bigger ripples in Tucson than in other parts of the state, said Rebecca Seweryn, senior economist at Economy.com. Migration from California, a major source of population growth for Tucson, also has slowed, she said.

Tucson has been shedding jobs "at a rapid clip since the second quarter of 2007," the Moody's Economy.com report said. The report shows the number of jobs dropping by 1.3 percent in 2008. The unemployment rate — while still below the national average — is also rising briskly, from 3.7 percent last year to a projected 4.6 percent this year. The sectors showing the most job losses in Tucson are construction; manufacturing; and leisure and hospitality, the report said.