Nevada sales up as nation stays flat

Thursday, Feb. 29, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Taxable sales for December reached $2 billion, a 9.3 percent increase over the same month in 1994, the state Department of Taxation reported.

Taxation Director Michael Pitlock said the retail categories that indicate Christmas shopping showed a 4.3 percent increase in sales.

"That's average for Nevada but compared to the rest of the nation, we're outpacing everybody else," he said.

Clark County sales in December totaled $1.3 billion, up 8.1 percent.

Pitlock said there is some leveling off in the Southern Nevada economy. "But it's still very strong, particularly compared to the rest of the country, which is slowing down and almost flat," he said.

Washoe County sales jumped 9.7 percent to $392.9 million. Carson City increased 7.7 percent to $60.5 million and Elko County's taxable sales fell 6.8 percent to $64.3 million.

For the first six months of the fiscal year, taxable sales rose 11.7 percent, far ahead of the 7 percent predicted by the Economic Forum, which makes the official forecast of revenues used to determine the state budget, Pitlock said.

For the six-month period in Clark County, taxable sales reached $7 billion, up 9.7 percent. Washoe recorded a 12.9 percent increase to $1.8 billion. Sales in Carson City jumped 14.6 percent to $318.3 million for the first six months. And Elko County recorded a 6.6 percent increase at $383 million.

December car sales jumped 21.2 percent. Pitlock said there also were strong sales on other "big-ticket" items, including equipment purchased by mining companies.

Metal mining jumped 30.8 percent. Building materials and hardware rose 16.4 percent and purchases in food stores were up 16.8 percent.

Restaurant and bar business statewide rose 3.1 percent. It inched up 1.6 percent in Clark County but jumped 16.9 percent in Washoe County.

The home furnishings business increased 8.2 percent in December business services rose 13.4 percent.