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Economist says
nation recovering faster than Las Vegas
March 23, 2010 -
The national
recession's end is in sight, though recovery remains elusive in Las Vegas, an
economist said this morning.
Federal Reserve senior economist Raymond Owens said the U.S. economy shows clear
signs of economic improvement. Gross domestic product is up significantly,
household spending has stabilized and more Americans are investing in businesses
and homes. Business inventories have returned to pre-recession levels, which
could mean big demand for new goods.
What's more, consumers feel better about their job security, and incomes have
halted their downward slide, Owens said. Household spending on discretionary
items is rising.
For Las Vegas, there's just one problem: Consumers are spending to replace
big-ticket items, such as cars and appliances. Budgeting for services such as
leisure activities and travel won't be a priority for a while, Owens said.
"It's going to be some time down the road before (consumers) will be satisfied
that they'll start to have the discretionary income to spend on things like
entertainment," Owens said. "So, while people will certainly come back to Las
Vegas and back to Orlando and places like that, it's usually a bit delayed. This
time, the downturn was more severe, so you might expect a somewhat longer lag
than typical. It's on the way, but it's not going to happen just tomorrow."
Owens spoke at the Four Seasons to a group of businesspeople on hand for the
unveiling of the Las Vegas Perspective, an annual publication that provides
in-depth demographic and economic profiles of Southern Nevada's communities. The
book has five sponsors, including the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Nevada
Development Authority, Wells Fargo, KLAS-TV and Applied Analysis, a local
consulting firm that also conducted research for the Perspective.
Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman spoke at the event as well.
Goodman said Las Vegas needs three components to become a world-class city. It
needs world-class medical centers, which Goodman said it's landing with research
facilities such as the Nevada Cancer Institute in Summerlin and the Cleveland
Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health downtown. It also needs culture, which
the Smith Center for the Performing Arts under construction downtown will help
provide. And it must have a major-league sports team.
Goodman said three separate groups have proposed stadiums near the Strip or
downtown, and he said he's been "virtually assured" that the National Basketball
Association will allow Las Vegas to have an NBA team once an arena opens here.
For information on the Las Vegas Perspective, visit
lvperspective.com.
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