State and third party statistics show strong economic recovery across Nevada

CARSON CITY– Gov. Brian Sandoval announced April 19 that state recovery statistics following the publication of Nevada’s unemployment rate of 4.8 percent. The information below reviews the state’s progress over the past several years as Nevada’s economic recovery has unfolded.

“Nevada’s recovery is a story that should be told. Led by small businesses and fueled by the relentless determination of Nevadans putting into place the policies that have allowed our economy to grow and thrive, we are exceeding all expectations,” Sandoval said in press release. “The next step in our state’s long-term recovery is workforce development in order to meet the demands of the new Nevada economy. I’m proud of what we have accomplished together but remain committed to ensuring that Nevada continues to build a vibrant and diversified economy powered by citizens who are educated and ready to compete for the jobs of the 21st century.”

“In light of the fact that Nevada was the hardest-hit state in the nation during the Great Recession, our progress to date is extremely encouraging. Perhaps most notable is the fact that we’ve gone from the bottom of the job growth rankings to near the top in just six years,” Bill Anderson, chief economist for the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, said in a press release. “In the process, we’ve established a new all-time high in terms of employment. Looking forward, we believe that we will continue to see broad-based and diversified job gains of nearly 40,000 per year through the end of the next biennium.”

Nevada’s robust recovery has been verified and praised by outside sources including FORBES’ ranking Nevada on top of its inaugural American Dream Index. The Index is an ongoing state-by-state look at the trends of seven key economic indicators: bankruptcies, building permits, goods-producing jobs, labor participation rate, layoffs, startup activity and unemployment insurance claims. The Index can be found here: http://bit.ly/2osU2rA

Additionally, the Index of State Economic Momentum developed by the State Policy Reports ranked Nevada first in its March 2017 report. This performance is based on three key measures of economic vitality: personal income growth, employment growth, and population growth. This report also showed Nevada had the strongest personal income growth in the nation on a year-over-year basis. Its figures also showed Nevada’s carried the third highest employment growth rate and was the fastest growing state in the nation. A copy of the SPR report is attached.

The data in the Score Card is based on the first quarter labor market information by the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) based on U.S. Department of Labor metrics.