So it’s not the Great Depression. But this past year wasn’t an easy one for our county.

We are going into 2010 with an unemployment rate of at least 5.5 percent, a growing number of commercial vacancies, sales and lodging tax revenues at a low, and a real estate market that is suffering.

But business owners are adapting to accommodate patrons who are less willing to part with money. The Sounder talked with nearly a dozen Orcas small business owners who have changed what they offer – and at what price.

We salute our island shops, restaurants, and lodging establishments for their perseverance. It’s never easy running a business that is heavily dependent on visitors’ dollars. As one owner said, “I feel broke every year at this time. It’s nothing new.”

Without these places to shop and eat, our community would be pretty dull, so thanks for sticking around. We can all show our appreciation by shopping locally whenever possible.

A few facts about our current economy

Here’s what pocketbooks look like in the San Juans as we enter the new year.

Employment: Of 8,410 islanders of workforce age, 7,950 of us are working. That means 460 of us are unemployed. Jobless rate: 5.5 percent.

While the jobless rate is half that of the nation’s, consider this: Between September and October, 10 construction workers and 60 trade, transportation or utilities workers lost their paychecks in San Juan County. Over the year, some 120 construction jobs, 30 manufacturing jobs and 70 government jobs were lost. Orcas has had record numbers of families frequenting the food bank.

Real Estate: The real estate industry continues to gasp for air, and even the ever-optimistic board members of the Northwest Multiple Listing Service are tempering their optimism.

Median home prices in the San Juans dropped 34.26 percent between January and November. But on the upside, in the latter month, the median price of a home ($377,000) was the highest in the 19-county Northwest MLS region. No. 2 is King County, $337,000. However, that 34.26 percent drop is also the greatest drop in the 19-county Northwest MLS region. No. 2 is Pacific County, with a decrease of 23.63 percent.

In November, there were 29 new listings and 441 total active listings, up 5.5 percent over the same period in 2008. Of that, there were 10 pending sales, up from six in November the previous year; and 15 closed sales, up from 10.

Upside: If you have the resources to buy a home, now’s the time. Prices are relatively low, and last month, Congress passed new legislation that extends the first-time homebuyer tax credit of up to $8,000 to buyers who purchase by April 30, 2010. The legislation also authorized a tax credit of up to $6,500 for qualified repeat homebuyers.