According to a group of UNLV economic researchers, Las Vegas isn’t out of the pandemic woods yet. In fact, they said, visitation is likely to dip in 2023 and 2024, in accordance with an expected softening in the US economy. The group – which first announced its findings in April and reiterated them at a UNLV forum two weeks ago – predicts that visitation is likely to drop by about a million people next year, to between 37 million and 38 million.

https://www.casino.org/news/vegas-visitation-inches-to-within-1-of-pre-pandemic-level/

At UNLV’s Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER), director Andrew Woods cuts to the bottom line. “The demand for energy storage between electric cars, homes, and commercial is only going to grow exponentially,” Woods says. “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.”

https://www.unlv.edu/news/article/rewriting-nevadas-mining-story

Andrew Woods, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at UNLV, said he was encouraged by the growing labor participation rate. He said increasing the participation rate to pre-pandemic levels — near 64 percent according to the BLS — was most important to recovery and the state’s economic growth.

“In the short-run, it’s not surprising to see that we’re still the highest unemployment rate, with transient workers and still a lot of job openings in our largest sector,” Woods said. “What I think is more concerning is what happened to (the workers) that should still be in the workforce?”

https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/nevadas-jobless-rate-among-nations-highest-but-economists-arent-alarmed-2681560/?state=refreshTokenFallback

The university’s Center for Business and Economic Research, or CBER, found that Nevada has experienced what it calls a “broke-V” recovery, according to its fall economic outlook report.

“We are not in a recession yet,” Andrew Woods, director of CBER, said in a news release. “But an economic slowdown is in the cards for 2023.”

https://news3lv.com/news/local/unlv-report-las-vegas-economy-slowing-down-but-no-recession-in-sight

As for why the housing market may experience a downturn, Andrew Woods, the director of CBER, pointed to the rapid rise in home prices following the brief pandemic recession.

“You should remember housing prices between 2020 and 2022 went up first 27 percent, and then they went up 17 percent,” Woods said during the Outlook presentation. “That’s pretty incredible. So the model’s looking at that and saying, ‘That’s maybe not sustainable for the moment and there’s a little bit of a correction.”

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/nevada-economists-forecast-positive-outlook-for-economy-even-as-national-recession-fears-loom

Stephen M. Miller, director of research at the UNLV Center for Business and Economic Research, notes that Las Vegas relies heavily on travel and tourism to support economic activity.

The climb back from the shutdown, however, occurred in starts and stops of several months’ duration, Miller said.

He notes that a new player in the local tourism economy is “sports entertainment.”

https://www.casino.org/news/las-vegas-is-third-most-popular-thanksgiving-destination-after-disney-sites-aaa-says/

Stephen Miller, research director at UNLV’s Center for Business and Economic Research, said the August inflation report showed that a lot hasn’t changed in the economy.

“I don’t think there’s been really much of a change, the Fed is in charge,” Miller said. “And they’re going to reduce inflation, come hell or high water. It’s a short term cost in that the cost of not doing it now is that the longer term cost will be higher.”

https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/adapt-or-give-up-southern-nevadans-forced-to-adjust-as-inflation-rises-2644602/

UNLV economics professor, Stephen Miller, says Nevada’s jobless rate seems historically typical under the current circumstances, but the bigger picture is puzzling. “At least nationally, a 3.7% unemployment rate is really unusual. Unusually low,” Miller said. His concern going forward could hinge on what the Federal Reserve needs to do to curb inflation.

https://news3lv.com/news/local/inflation-looms-over-nevada-job-recovery

Miller told 8 News Now this development really has the power to affect those looking to cash out their 401k, while also facing a higher cost of living.

“They are going to be hurt by this, not because of the stock market,” Miller said. “But rather because the Feds are going to be controlling inflation through aggressive policies.”

https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/las-vegans-weigh-in-on-another-interest-rate-hike-plummeting-stocks/

“Other people were not coming back to the labor market because their kids were going to school remotely or they were afraid of COVID because they work in a sector that requires face-to-face contact,” Miller said. “Las Vegas, we’re heavily into face-to-face contact industries. Restaurants, bars, casinos all require face-to-face contact and now we’re slowly adjusting.”

https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/nevadas-job-market-restructuring-economists-say-2638681/