JANESVILLE, Wis. -- It's no surprise that home foreclosures are on the rise, but some locals are saying a recent article in USA Today is making it look worse than it actually is in Rock County.

Local economic officials are disappointed in the negative publicity. The closure of the General Motors plant in Janesville has garnered national attention. Statewide, Rock County has among the highest unemployment rates.

It's a tough reputation to beat, especially when information is misleading, residents said. Six foreclosed homes were auctioned at the Rock County courthouse on Wednesday morning, but there were no buyers.

Rock County foreclosures are up, but a recent USA Today article has brought some unnecessary attention.

"We certainly did see the article and did have some questions about the numbers that they were using for that," said Dan Cunningham, vice president of Government Relations at Forward Janesville.

A newspaper graphic shows Rock County leading the nation in percentage increase in foreclosures, based on data by a company called RealtyTrac. RealtyTrac officials said on Wednesday afternoon that the numbers used to form that graphic contain incomplete data.

"Certainly, it will make our job a little bit more difficult, but we're out there every day trying to make it happen," said Cunningham.

Local economic officials say, when attracting businesses, information such as foreclosure rates can play a factor.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce representative Doug Loon said that the perception could have a silver lining.

"It's an economic indicator. It could also say that there's plenty of housing stock for your future employees at an affordable rate. But it does say there's been a downturn in the economy. You look at the unemployment numbers and you can see that," said Loon.

The data are just a small piece of the larger picture and it's unlikely a business will make a decision based on a newspaper article.

However, it doesn't help the perception of an already struggling community.

"Economic development and site location planners look at all sorts of data. They're going to look at the negative and they're going to look at the positive,"said Cunningham.

A detailed look at Rock County's foreclosure numbers, according to clerk of courts, shows from January to April 2009, there were 112 a month. That's a 46-percent increase from the same time period in 2008, and an average of 77 foreclosures a month.

This compared to the USA Today graphic, which used a monthly average of only 8.08 foreclosures over that same time period in 2008. That incomplete data is what RealtyTrac says led to the reported 1,397-percent increase.