Economic indicators are playing follow-the-leader these days, with rising unemployment rates leading the pack, followed closely by increasing notices on foreclosed properties and declining auto sales.

Itbegins with the unemployment rate, which indicates how property foreclosures will fare, said Bonnie Brown, a spokeswoman for Addison-based Foreclosure Listing Service Inc.

“I believe, unfortunately, we will see layoffs, which will continue to impact the residential and commercial real estate market through the rest of this year,” Brown said.

The county and state unemployment rates continued to increase slightly in March and commercial foreclosures increased three times over from last year for the upcoming May 5 auction.

The majority of the foreclosed commercial properties are retail shopping centers, Brown said.

Those indicators have shown the recession has arrived late to North Texas, hitting the retail industry especially hard, said Dr. Bernard Weinstein, director of the University of North Texas Economic Development and Research Center, in a recent interview.

With unemployment climbing and uncertainty in the economy, consumers are spending less and people in North Texas are starting to see the effects of the recession, Weinstein said.

Automobile dealerships across Denton County are reporting signs of lacking consumer confidence, with auto sales down 17 percent across the county, according to March numbers released by Freeman Auto Report.

In March, dealerships reported 1,536 vehicles were sold, down from 1,852 during the same month in 2008.

“Fewer people with lower incomes do not bode well for people in retail, and what’s more, the face of the economy,” Weinstein said.

Unemployment

For the third month in a row, the unemployment rate in the city of Denton has remained at 5.3 percent, with Denton County’s unemployment rate rising a tenth of a percentage point to 6.5 percent in March, according to Texas Workforce Commission data released Friday.

The local unemployment trends, neither of which has been adjusted yet for seasonal influences, are below the state rate of 6.7 percent and well below the national rate of 8.5 percent.

But the county and city unemployment rates are almost two full percentage points above rates from March 2008.

Texas lost 47,100 jobs in March, after losing 52,400 jobs in February, according to the workforce commission.

Although the construction and manufacturing industries lost the most jobs last month, three industries added jobs: financial services; education and health services; and trade, transportation and utilities.

Although Texas suffered a net loss of jobs in March compared to the whole country, Texas is doing well, said commission chairman Tom Pauken in a written release.

“While the national recession continues to have an impact, TWC is focused on helping Texans find employment and weather these challenging economic times,” he said.

Property foreclosures

Property foreclosures have once again reached new heights in Denton County for the upcoming May 5 auction, according to information released by Foreclosure Listings Services Inc.

Residential foreclosures in the county set another record for the upcoming auction, with 595 listings, marking the sixth time the area surpassed the 500 threshold.

The announced foreclosures increased 30 percent from May 2008, according to records.

Thirty commercial foreclosures, primarily land and retail shopping centers, were announced for foreclosure on Friday.

Although the first quarter showed skyrocketing commercial foreclosures, somehow May’s auction somehow surpassed even that survey, Brown said.

“As we take this next step up the ladder in posting activity for commercial property over the last month, I’m seeing a major increase in the postings of land and retail properties,” Brown said.

Most of the foreclosed retail shopping center properties are smaller, which means the small mom-and-pop retailers are feeling the recession, she said.

About 62 percent of foreclosed commercial land properties involve tracts that are 50 acres or more, which shows land developers are having a hard time flipping property in the recession, she said.

“It hurts us as we feel pains of the recession, but we’re not feeling it [the recession] near as bad as Detroit or the East and West Coast,” she said.

“We have been a fairly consistent market in comparison to the rest of the nation.”

 CANDACE CARLISLE can be reached at 940-566-6889. Her e-mail address is ccarlisle@dentonrc.com .

Commercial foreclosure postings increased 300 percent for the May 5 auction compared to the same period last year. Here is a breakdown of the types of foreclosed properties.