Nevada, mountain states optimistic about economy

Dan Elliott

Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2001 | 10:43 a.m.

DENVER -- Buoyed by years of good times and rising home equity, residents of Nevada and the mountain states are more optimistic about the economy than most Americans.

Although growth has slowed and unemployment is up in most of the region, the mountain states as a whole are doing better than the rest of the nation, continuing a decade-long expansion from their sluggish performance in the 80s.

"The economy (of the mountain states) has been doing so well for so long, not only in absolute terms but in relation to the rest of the country, consumers are still feeling pretty high," said Sung Won Sohn, chief economist for Wells Fargo & Co.

Melody and Jeff Ayers moved to Colorado from Iowa last year for better-paying jobs and closed on their first house Thursday in Lafayette, 20 miles north of Denver.

"We feel a sense of job security," said Melody Ayers, 45, who works in medical records at Boulder Community Hospital. "There's always going to be a need in the medical field for somebody in my position."

The Conference Board's August Consumer Confidence Index was 121.2 for the eight-state mountain region, which covers Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. The national index was 114.3.

Unemployment edged up this summer in most states in the region and ranged from 2.9 percent in Colorado to 5.7 percent in New Mexico in June, the most recent month reported. Nationally, unemployment was 4.5 percent in June and July. Arizona, Montana, Utah and Wyoming also had jobless rates below the national average.

"We're still talking about a very low jobless rate in Colorado and other parts of the mountain states," Sohn said. "Most people feel that the current setbacks in technology, for example, are temporary."

Judy Kennelley, president of the Denver executive search firm Integrity Network, said hiring in technology has slowed but not stopped.

"It's not like a year ago, when somebody in high-tech could get a job in a week," said Kennelley, who specializes in filling positions in technology sales, marketing and business development at the vice-president level. "There are opportunities out there and there is hiring going on. Unfortunately, there's a lot of layoffs going on."

Both national and regional confidence declined from July because of worries about rising unemployment.

Jean and Daniel Ditslear, both 28-year-old advertising agency art directors, felt secure enough about their jobs to buy their first house last month in Longmont, about 30 miles north of Denver.

"We're a little bit nervous," Jean Ditslear said. "It doesn't seem like things are slowing down for our company, but we have lots of friends who had to get other jobs. We have friends who are still unemployed," she said.

Rising real estate prices have helped consumer confidence in the mountain states by increasing the value of peoples' homes.

"Housing prices have gone up much more rapidly (in the mountain states) than in the rest of the nation, so they feel wealthier and they feel good about it," Sohn said.

From 1998 to 2000, the median price of existing single-family homes sold in the West rose 11 percent, the National Association of Realtors said. Nationwide, the median price rose 8.2 percent.

The Realtors' Western region includes the eight mountain states plus Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington.

Businesses and policy-makers watch the Consumer Confidence Index closely for hints about future consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of the U.S. economy.

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