Summing up a busy week of business data

Written by Dave Gallagher | The Bellingham Herald | July 16, 2009

There was a flood of local economic reports this week. It might be a challenge keeping track of them all, so here is a summary of the major reports:

Bankruptcies, Foreclosures for first half of year: Bankruptices up 53 percent locally compared to first half of 2008. Foreclosure notices were up 77 percent for the same period.

Unemployment: Locally it inched upward to 8.4 percent in June; statewide it’s 9.3 percent.

Retail sales: Whatcom County sales down 12.7 percent, the biggest quarterly drop since 1993. Bellingham was down 14.8 percent.

Overall, it’s ugly news but probably expected by most people. Retail sales were steeper than I expected, and Whatcom County unemployment was lower than I would have guessed.