FAIRMONT - The word is the country is slowly recovering from the recession.

Looking at the city of Fairmont as a whole, Economic Development Director Mike Humpal is feeling "cautiously optimistic," a sentiment he shares with other business leaders in the community.

"Talking to area manufacturers and businesses, they're also seeing signs that business is picking up and things are getting better. A couple of our businesses have hired some people back," Humpal said.

Firsthand, he said, his office is fielding more calls, with people asking about available property.

"That was slow or non-existent five to six months ago," he said.

But there's room for improvement.

"Unemployment is still is at a fairly significant level," said Mike Humpal, Fairmont's Economic Development Director.

Data from the state Department of Employment and Economic Development shows Martin County's unemployment rate was at 6.9 percent in September, down from the year's high of 8.1 percent in April. September 2008 the unemployment rate was 5.1 percent, and the highest point that year was 5.9 percent in December.

"Experts say often you'll see signs of the economy turning around before the turn in the unemployment rate catches up," Humpal said.

Besides unemployment rates, the banking industry and housing markets are two ways to gauge the health of the local economy.

"Fairmont's economy is steady, maybe a little flat," said Allen Struck, president of State Bank. "The hog industry is definitely hurting, and the grain farmers have to watch themselves and their cash flow. There's pressure coming down the pike for them."

The demand for loans is down, he noted, but not yet to a serious level.

"We're definitely not in trouble or anything, but we have to watch ourselves closer in a tighter economy," he said.

The downturn also has been evident to Ron Kopischke, president of Profinium Financial's Fairmont branch.

"Those who have been affected are certainly struggling with payments," he said.

He's thankful Fairmont isn't experiencing high unemployment rates like the Twin Cities and worse yet, the coastal regions.

"Credit is still available and we've been very busy doing residential housing loans and refinancing to take advantage of low interest rates," he said.

Business loans are performing well, but Kopischke hasn't seen a lot of opportunity for expansion.

"Depending on what sector they're in, business is down because the economy is down, but they seem to be weathering the storm well," he said. "And attitudes are dramatically better. A year ago, there was so much doom and gloom, and now there are people ... seeing there's a light at the end of the tunnel."

Fewer foreclosures may be another indication the area is on its way out of the recession.

In 2007 in Martin County, 54 homes were foreclosed on, and 2008 saw 51 foreclosures, according to Dan Whitman, county assessor. Through September 2009, there have been only 28 foreclosures.

"It looks better this year," Whitman said. "We're down from the last couple years substantially."

Looking at real estate from a different standpoint, the market is OK, said Dale Schumann with Century 21 in Fairmont.

"Has it slowed down some? Yes," he said. "Have the prices leveled off some? Yes. Are houses still selling? The answer is yes."

Statistics from the Realtor Association of Southern Minnesota support his assessment of the real estate market in Martin County. The year-to-date data through September shows 233 new houses were listed in 2009, compared to 271 in 2008 and 268 in 2007.

"In 2009, we're a little down overall ... But in 2007, when the rest of the country was supposedly in dire straits, that was our best year," Schumann said, referring to sales at the Fairmont office.

Though fewer houses have been listed this year, the number of closing sales is comparable to recent years. There have been 142 closed sales in 2009; 137 in 2008; and 158 in 2007.

The average sales price thus far for 2009 was $94,500, up slightly from 2008 but down from 2007, when it was $102,500.

Of course, those numbers don't reflect the original asking prices.

In 2007 and 2008, people sold their houses at an average of 91 percent of the original listing price. In 2009, that figure fell to 87.4 percent. Meanwhile, the average time a listing is on the market has increased, from 135 days in 2007; to 151 in 2008; to 165 in 2009.

"That tells me the pricing is too high and it's taking longer to sell houses," Schumann said.

What the future holds Schumann wouldn't venture to guess.

"Real estate is like a rollercoaster, and we're either somewhere on the way up or on the way down," he said.