Business Indicators

Nevada’s economy shows resilience from the events of September 11. A national recession and markedly changed behavior for travel and entertainment, to be sure, leave the Silver State on a more measured pace than in the past. Though adversity from the disruptions continues, signs of change are appearing. The movement of monthly employment levels, for one, shows that sharp drops … [Read more...] about March 2002: Business Indicators

Economic activity slipped in the latest Nevada indicators, clearly showing overall softening since the terrorist attacks of September 11th. The state’s visitor volume dropped by a double-digit rate compared with the same month a year ago. Expenditures, as gauged by gaming revenue, were also down, but not by as much as visitor activity. Expenditure-per-visitor rose slightly. … [Read more...] about February 2002: Business Indicators

The economic fallout from the September 11th terrorist attacks now appears in key data series, revealing both anticipated and unusual changes. Unemployment rates moved upward as anticipated, increasing most notably for Clark County (Las Vegas Metropolitan Area) from a pre-attack level of 5 percent to a post-attack level of 6.7 percent. With air travel halted and the attention … [Read more...] about January 2002: Business Indicators

Data available to monitor current overall economic conditions still reflect some pre-September 11 activity, rendering the current information less robust in its ability to predict the Nevada outlook. Still, announcements of decreased spending, layoffs, cancellations and postponements have been sufficient in the post-September 11 period to conclude that the longest economic … [Read more...] about December 2001: Business Indicators

The data on this page predate the terrorist attacks of September 11. Generally speaking, the national and regional economies show mixed conditions. With the events of September 11, however, expectations of recession have developed. Consumers have joined investors in taking a more cautious outlook in making future expenditures. The most recent data reveal similar conditions … [Read more...] about November 2001: Business Indicators

Stock-market analysts continue to speak in terms of a recession. Stock-prices indexes are down substantially from the peak of 2000. The overall U.S. economy, however, continues to grow, though at a modest rate. The official definition of a recession requires two quarters of decline of the overall economy. As of the second quarter 2001, the U.S. Gross Domestic Product, adjusted … [Read more...] about October 2001: Business Indicators

Amid the flurry of gyrating stock-market activity, the U.S. economic expansion continues, albeit at a modest pace. Second-quarter preliminary estimates put the growth rate of inflation-adjusted gross domestic product at less than 1 percent, following a first-quarter expansion of only 1.2 percent. Many of the new high-tech firms have folded, and some of the older firms have … [Read more...] about September 2001: Business Indicators

The Federal Reserve continues to push the "signaling" short-term interest rates downward, having cut the federal funds target rate and the discount rate six times already in 2001. This aggressive activity at lowering the cost of borrowing is likely to take some time before yielding significant results. Historical experience suggests that the impact of interest-rate adjustments … [Read more...] about August 2001: Business Indicators

Weakening economic conditions continue across the nation. Most notably, the latest employment numbers show higher unemployment rates compared with year-ago levels. Both the national and state unemployment levels have drifted upward in recent months. Still, the number of jobs is growing, albeit at slow rates nationally and at healthier rates in Nevada’s urban centers. Most … [Read more...] about July 2001: Business Indicators

Having aggressively pushed interest rates upward to slow down an overheated stock market during the first half of 2000, the Federal Reserve retraced its steps in pushing interest rates down in 2001 to counter sagging stock prices. In early January 2001, the Federal Reserve changed its policy direction. It dropped the federal funds and the discount rates by 50 basis points on … [Read more...] about June 2001: Business Indicators

Clouds of uncertainty continue — some indicators showing weakness and others holding at favorable levels. Signs of weakness in the national economy include stock-market prices, down from the peak of a year ago; emerging concern about future disruptions in the supply of energy; and some manufacturing and dot-com layoffs. Some hype has been generated about declining financial … [Read more...] about May 2001: Business Indicators

Stock-market volatility and declining share prices would, other things being equal, suggest economic weakness. Wall Street activity, however, does not always reflect economic fundamentals on Main Street. Indeed, despite falling stock-market indexes since March 2000, overall U.S. economic activity remains generally healthy with the latest unemployment rate (February 2001) at 4.2 … [Read more...] about April 2001: Business Indicators

With this issue we introduce a new format. The format identifies recent growth rates, computed as the percentage change over the last two observations, and trend, computed as the percentage change for the latest period over the same period a year ago. We have added some new national indicators to round out our list of the most often watched indicators. In addition, we include a … [Read more...] about March 2001: Business Indicators

The October and November data now available bring some clear signs that the economy’s robust growth has slowed. Throughout 2000, the Fed repeatedly hiked the federal funds rate — the rate that banks charge each other — and the discount rate — the rate that the Fed charges member banks. These Fed activities have tugged at the market forces driving interest rates and asset … [Read more...] about February 2001: Business Indicators

Though showing signs of slower growth, a strong U.S. economy seems to be moving toward what seems to be a sustainable path. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a measure of overall spending, increased at 7.61 percent for the third quarter of 2000 over the same period a year ago. The early estimate of the third quarter GDP growth rate adjusted for price increases came in at 2.7 … [Read more...] about January 2001: Business Indicators