Health care is now the third-biggest employer in Southern Nevada, according to the latest UNLV’s Center for Business and Economic Research’s annual report, and will become the second biggest in as little as three years.

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Their appreciation for Nevada’s special place in the mining world reminded me of a conversation I had in 2022 with Andrew Woods, director of UNLV’s Center for Business and Economic Research. He bottom-lined it this way: “The demand for energy storage between electric cars, homes and commercial is only going to grow exponentially. The demand for batteries is forecasted to grow five times in the next eight years. Climate change is no longer a question of mitigation, but of human survival.”

An asterisk is appropriate here. Our conversation took place back when the American president believed in climate change. He offered a full-throated endorsement of a bold and costly renewable energy policy, one that coincidentally was also an economic driver in rural Nevada. Science-driven climate policy has been labeled a hoax by the current occupant of the White House.

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The NAIOP October meeting was entitled, the “Economy in Motion: Shaping What’s Next for Southern Nevada.” Other panelists included Steve Hill, CEO and president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority; and Andrew Woods, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at UNLV. Jamie Schwartz, UNLV Research Foundation director of business and industry engagement moderated the panel.

“We are cautiously stable right now in the economy,” Woods said after returning from a conference in Philadelphia where Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell spoke to economists. “It’s very clear we’re the two-handed economists. There’s data out there’s still a lot of growth and opportunity but there’s a lot of warning lights out there going on like our labor market and inflation.

“There are three forces that are going to drive Southern Nevada and its economy in the coming years — some good and some bad,” Woods said. “The first one is population growth. We are forecasting an additional 387,000 more people living here in the next 10 years. That’s nine more net residents by the end of this breakfast. That’s good.”

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We asked Andrew Woods, Director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, whether the recent tourism slowdown reflects a broader economic cooling or if it’s more cyclical.

He told CasinoBeats that the slowdown appears to be driven by two factors: “One is outside forces beyond the control of the leisure and hospitality industry, such as the fallout of the rhetoric due to the trade war, which has depressed demand from Canadian tourists to the United States. In Las Vegas, roughly 12% of tourism is international, with the largest share from Canada, which was down 19.1% year-to-date in July, according to statistics from Harry Reid International Airport.”

Woods added that domestic spending habits are also changing: “The second factor driving the lower visitations to Las Vegas is the domestic traveler, especially the more budget-conscious type. We know they are still traveling, but they are more thrifty with their choice of where to travel and how they are spending their discretionary income. Las Vegas, maybe because of our own pricing strategies or how we’ve communicated our pricing strategies to consumers, is perceived to be less affordable compared to other popular tourist destinations like Orlando or Honolulu.”

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LAS VEGAS — The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate by a quarter-point Wednesday and projected it would do so twice more this year as concern grows at the central bank about the health of the nation’s labor market.

The move is the Fed’s first cut since December and lowered its short-term rate to about 4.1%, down from 4.3%.

The decision saw only one dissent from Fed policymaker Stephen Miran, a recent appointee by President Donald Trump.

The Fed is facing both a challenging economic environment and threats to its traditional independence from day-to-day politics.

Dr. Stephen Miller, research director for UNLV’s Center for Business and Economic Research, joined ARC Las Vegas and Evan Schreiber to ‘make it make cents’ for southern Nevada.

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Inflation, the job market, and interest rates are major factors in our current economic state.  Our economic panel explores these topics and their impact on Nevadans. We also discuss The Beverly Theater’s new initiative to introduce filmgoers to movies that won’t go to streaming services, and one county leader’s memories of working to get Las Vegas visitors home in the aftermath of 9/11.

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Weekly statistics from Las Vegas police reveal a steady rise in retail thefts compared to 2024, with the Summerlin Area Command leading with the number of reported shoplifting cases so far this year.

Statistics from Las Vegas Metropolitan Police revealed 4,747 reported cases overall as of August 24 in their jurisdiction. That’s a 10.5 percent rise from the 4,297 reported cases during the same time last year.

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Empty streets and casinos in Las Vegas are trending on social media, with some calling the city a “ghost town” and saying “Vegas is dead.” Declines in visitors, convention attendance and hotel occupancy compared to last year are fueling broader economic concerns amid tariff uncertainty.

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Supporters of the mining project say it will bring lost jobs back to the US and ensure access to natural resources necessary for a 21st-century economy.

“I’d say that access to critical minerals and metals is (like) oil in today’s global economy,” Andrew Woods, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) at the University of Nevada, tells TRT World.

Developing mines of these critical minerals will give “more leverage” to President Trump in his ongoing trade negotiations with foreign countries, he says.

“The mining industry in the US is not your grandfather’s mining with a pickaxe and shovel. It’s very complex, sophisticated, well-paid, and greener compared to (mining in) other parts of the world. Its importance is only going to grow.”.

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During July, Las Vegas added 4,200 job but with jobs added, why aren’t locals getting hired? FOX5 is getting answers from a new UNLV report.

UNLV researchers have studied local employment trends for decades but say the Nevada Job Seeker Survey is different, asking unemployed individuals directly about trying to find a job. Many say they are having a hard time.

UNLV’s Center for Business and Economic Research closely tracks Southern Nevada’s economic indicators. Their Nevada Job Seeker Survey targets Nevadans ages 18 and older who are unemployed but seeking employment.

New unemployment numbers from DETR show the leisure and hospitality industry saw a loss of 1,800 jobs in July.

The survey found more than half of respondents (58.4%) wanted to change industries favoring hospitality, transportation, and administrative roles.

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