Nevada taxable sales up modestly as economy levels

Wednesday, March 22, 2000 | 10:42 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Nevada's taxable sales, one indicator of business activity in the state, opened the new century in January with a gain of 4.9 percent, the second smallest increase in the last 13 months.

"Things are leveling out," says David Pursell, director of the Nevada Taxation Department, which reported Tuesday that taxable sales grew to $2.1 billion in the first month of 2000. He said the state is now seeing the effects of the construction slowdown in Clark County, where most of the major new gaming resorts have been completed and opened.

Taxable sales rose by 6.1 percent in Clark County and 6.4 percent in Washoe County -- the two metropolitan areas of the state. But they dropped in nine rural counties in January, compared to the same month of 1999.

The 4.9 statewide percent gain is the smallest since last October, which registered a 3.5 percent increase and in July, which recorded a 4.5 percent jump.

The strong segments of the economy in January were restaurants and bars with sales up by 12.1 percent; auto business, up 10.8 percent; general merchandise stores, up 12.4 percent and miscellaneous retail, an increase of 12.6 percent.

One of the slumps occurred in the building construction business, which fell by 30.1 percent in the month compared to January 1999.

Pursell noted the purchase of furniture in Clark County was off 6.3 percent to $90.8 million. And the building materials and hardware business inched down 0.9 percent to $94.8 million.

Automobile sales continued strong in Southern Nevada, up 12 percent to $217.7 million; business in bars and restaurants jumped 15.2 percent to $358.5 million and general merchandise stores were up 16.3 percent to $114.2 million.

The gain in the restaurant and bar businesses coincided with a good report from casinos, which posted a 7.3 percent increase in January in gross gaming revenue.

Overall taxable sales in Clark County reached $1.6 billion, up from $1.5 billion of January 1999.