Nov. 9--The blood-red tower stands at the edge of the shopping center, its sliding-door maw locked up tight and the glue from its signage still spelling the name of its former tenant: Circuit City.

Nearly a year after the electronics retailer declared bankruptcy, sold off its inventory and shuttered stores across the country, its Albemarle Square space remains empty.

That vacancy is not the norm in a local retail market that experts say remains strong because of the economic strength of local employers such as the University of Virginia, the National Ground Intelligence Center and State Farm Insurance. The vacancy is not, however, worrying the center's landlord, Dumbarton Properties, of Richmond.

"We're in a pretty good position. We have some activity on the Circuit City space and only two or three other spaces that are vacant," said Beverly Webb, of Dumbarton Properties. "We're looking forward to having a new tenant in there, but we want to have the right tenant. We try to find tenants who are compatible and are not going to cannibalize our existing merchants. A lot of them are mom-and-pop shops and it's important to take care of them as best as you can."

Charlottesville and Albemarle County have fared better during the worst recession since the Great Depression than most areas of the state and country.

The national unemployment rate in October reached 10.2 percent for the first time since 1983, while the local rate hovered around 5.5 percent.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the economy shed a net total of 190,000 jobs in October, fewer than the 219,000 lost in September but more than August job losses, which were 154,000, according to revised figures.

October's job losses made 22-straight months that the nation's economy shed jobs, the longest streak for 70 years.

October retail sales nationwide increased slightly, posting a 1.8 percent increase over October 2008, according to recent studies.

Sales tax revenues in September increased across the commonwealth, and Charlottesville and Albemarle incomes were no exception. The county's sales tax revenue in September was $1.09 million, compared with August's $949,000. City sales earned more than $818,000 in tax revenue in September, compared with August's $747,000.

For the first two quarters of the fiscal year, however, Charlottesville and Albemarle County consumer spending lagged behind 2008. Sales tax revenues in the city dropped 8.41 percent in August compared with 2008, and county income dipped 11.68 percent.

It could be worse.