State economy shows respectable gain

Tuesday, May 29, 2001 | 10:40 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Fueled by auto sales and business in bars and restaurants, taxable sales in Nevada in March rose to $2.8 billion, an increase of a respectable 5.4 percent from a year ago, the state Taxation Department reported.

Last week's taxable sales report follows news that Nevada's unemployment rate increased two percentage points from February to March to 4.6 percent -- a figure higher than the national rate of 4.3 percent.

"This is not great but it's good," David Pursell, director of the Taxation Department, said of the sales report. He said the increases in taxable sales are leveling off at about 5 percent. And he said the sales tax collections are right on target as predicted by the Economic Forum earlier this month.

Car sales in March jumped by 10.8 percent and business in eating and drinking places rose 9.8 percent, the department said.

Merchants in Clark County chalked up taxable sales of $2 billion, a 5.9 percent increase from a year ago, the biggest percentage increase since September (a 7.9 percent gain).

The department said general merchandise stores statewide registered a 10.2 percent increase in sales; building materials were up 5.8 percent; apparel stores rose 8.9 percent and the home furniture business fell by 2.9 percent.

In Clark County, automobile sales jumped 13.7 percent to $273.1 million. The bar and restaurant business increased 9.8 percent to $444 million.

The department said business in building materials in Southern Nevada rose by 8.4 percent; taxable sales in general merchandise stores increased by 9.4 percent but business in home furniture sales dropped .9 percent.

The agency said taxable sales rose by 5.1 percent in Washoe County to $476 million; Carson City merchants posted an 11.1 percent increase to $74.6 million; Elko County's taxable sales fell by 3.4 percent to $60.8 million and Douglas County reported $48.2 million, up 5.9 percent.

Pursell said the state has collected $466.4 million so far this fiscal year from its share of the sales tax, a 5 percent increase over last year.