Mr. Weinstein, the University of North Texas economist, said the Dallas-Fort Worth area was down about 15,000 jobs from the same time last year.
New mortgage lending restrictions have reduced buying power for many Canadians; the total number of sales in the Vancouver area was down 30 percent in 2012, Mr. Fitzpatrick said.
Many were here when the area was down on its luck and real estate values were low, and are determined to keep the neighborhood's traditional feel, even as they see chain stores and fast-food franchises creeping in.
"In the early 1990s, the farmers market came in, and I thought it was good — the area was down, and it improved the area," said Paul Camarata, the owner of Sound Factory, a recording studio on Selma Avenue at the crossroads of the market.
He noted that the number of Cinco de Mayo celebrations in his station's listening area was "down substantially" this year and that it was hard to find bands willing to play the events because of what he called "the fear factor".
María Luisa Martínez Dibarboure, assistant to the CEO at mobile bank $ero, said that Uruguay's success in this area was down to the government bringing in a financial inclusion law last August, which meant that everyone had to have a full bank account or mobile account.
