Quality jobs, too

Even as the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada posts big numbers in its effort to recruit new companies to the region, EDAWN's chief executive suggests that big numbers alone may not be enough.

Instead, regional economic officials need to further focus on development of good-paying jobs that fit the area's needs and play to its workers' strengths, says Chuck Alvey, EDAWN's president and chief executive officer.

And that work, he said,will require an investment in research and sophisticated analysis to learn more about the region's economic strengths, the skills possessed by its labor force and its potential to attract new companies.

EDAWN reported last week that it worked with 31 companies 23 of them new to the area, seven expanding and one retention project during the first nine months of its fiscal year.

The economic impact of that work, which represented 1,849 jobs, totaled $242 million, the nonprofit agency said.

For the full year, EDAWN's board had set a minimum goal of $240 million in economic impact generated by its staff.

The board's target for the fiscal year is $255 million, and it's set a "stretch goal" of $283 million for EDAWN's staff.

(See sidebar article to learn how EDAWN calculates economic impact.) With about 50 potential deals in the pipeline, and a half dozen getting close to decisions, Alvey said he's confident EDAWN will reach its target for the year.

He cited three reasons for EDAWN's recent successes:

* The California marketing campaign launched by economic development agencies in Nevada a year ago is gaining traction and is successfully changing perceptions in the Golden State. (California accounted for at least 13 of the companies that relocated to northern Nevada from July through March.)

* Northern Nevada business executives have carried the region's message a good business climate, a good place to live to fellow executives across the nation.

* A strengthening national economy encourages companies to undertake expansion projects.

Calculating economic impact Executives of the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada talk about the agency's economic impact a lot.

Here's what they're talking about: EDAWN uses a regional project

assessment system software program to estimate economic impact of new businesses to the region.

The model takes into account three basic items:

* The employment of an operation (or the total payroll and number of employees).

* The real estate transactions associated with the project.

Did the company lease space, buy land and build a building or purchase and existing building.

* The company's capital investment in equipment which is taxable in Nevada, yielding local and state revenues.

The key elements for EDAWN's purposes are the employees, wages and industry represented by the company.

Each industry has a different multiplier thus yielding greater or lesser impact to the region.

And EDAWN counts only companies to which it provided assistance.

Companies that come to the region on their own aren't included in the calculations of economic impact.