Survey reveals recession over in some cities

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The recession is over in the Madison, Appleton and Oshkosh areas.

But the downturn continues in 12 other Wisconsin metros and the state as a whole. That’s according to an adversity index from Moody’sEconomy.com and MSNBC.

It’s based on employment, industrial production, home prices, and housing starts compared to a year ago. The latest numbers are from August and they showed that 79 of the nation’s 384 metros are in a recovery mode, as well as 11 of the 50 states.

Moody’s says those states are mostly in sparsely-populated areas which have less of a boom to bust housing cycle, and strong prices for oil and natural gas.

In Wisconsin, the survey said overall employment was down almost 4 percent from last August, industrial production dropped 15 percent, and housing starts fell by 19 percent.

The report did not include August figures on home sales.

It said the Oshkosh area had the smallest employment drop among the places in recovery, three-fourths of a percent from a year ago.

Madison had the smallest decrease of the three in housing starts, at around 8 percent.

None of the nation’s metro areas were said to be in an economic expansion yet.

Tags: moodys economy, wisconsin, recession