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Last month at Bank of Nevada Economic Forum, Dr. Christopher Thornberg, founder of Beacon Economics, shared his insights on the economy.
According to Dr. Thornberg’s presentation, household net worth is up 30% in the past two years which is its highest level in years. Significant gains were made in the household net worth of the bottom 50% of households, which went up by 90% in the past two years. However, consumer sentiment is low due to the political and economic reactions to the pandemic. Overheated economy, high inflation, and rising interest rate are driving fears of a recession.
Nevada’s Economy:
Nevada has regained about 95% of the jobs lost during the pandemic. Gaming revenues have surpassed pre-pandemic level. Las Vegas had 32.2 million visitors in 2021, up 70% compared to 2020.
Nevada’s labor market has been recovering significantly from the COVID pandemic. However, the state's unemployment rate of 5.5% in February 2022 was still higher than national average of 3.8%. The state’s most signification job gains occurred in the Transportation, Warehouse and Utility sector, up 26% since February 2020.
Employers are having challenge of finding skilled labors. Many people decided to leave the workforce during the pandemic in which created labor shortage in the job market. The Leisure and Hospitality sector saw the most significant job losses among all the industries.
Although international and business travelers are not fully recovered yet, the gaming industry in Las Vegas had a record year in 2021 with gross gaming revenue of $11.5 billion, the highest record in Las Vegas history.
Demand for housing remains strong in Las Vegas. From Q4 of 2020 to Q4 of 2021, the median home price rose 21.7% in Las Vegas, reaching $409,673. Vacancy rate for apartments in Q4 of 2021 was 3%, a 0.5 percentage point decrease from a year ago.
Las Vegas office vacancy rate in Q4 of 2021 was 22.6%, down 1.3% compared to a year ago. Warehouse vacancy rate in Q4 of 2021 was 3.6%, down 4.2% compared to a year ago. Average asking rents for warehouse space in Las Vegas increased by 7%, higher than the national 4.7% increase.
To learn more about the presentation, please visit https://www.westernalliancebancorporation.com/bank-of-nevada/insights/experts-analyze-latest-economic-trends-bank-of-nevadas-regional.
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