Wells Fargo economist upbeat on Vegas economic prospects

Chris Jones

Wednesday, April 24, 2002 | 9:46 a.m.

The Southern Nevada economy has all but recovered from last year's troubles and is poised to grow in the coming months, one of the nation's top economists said Tuesday.

"The worst is behind us and things are beginning to improve in the Las Vegas economy," said Sung Won Sohn, executive vice president and chief economic officer for San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co.

Sohn was in town to speak at Las Vegas Perspective 2002, an annual event highlighting the area's economic outlook and promoting the annual "Perspective" fact book. His positive remarks came nearly seven months after a post-Sept. 11 slowdown had some experts questioning the viability of Southern Nevada's tourism-dependant economy.

Instead, the valley's primary economic engines -- gaming and tourism -- have almost fully recovered from last year's decline, Sohn said.

"Room rates for leisure travelers were down because of discounts for the significant part of last year," Sohn said. "Now that is back up where it was one year ago ... That's also true for business travelers who come in the weekdays."

While the gaming industry hasn't lured back many high-rollers from Asia, Europe and the East Coast, Sohn said he expects those customers will return in the coming months. Overall, visitor volume for February and January was down only 2.4 percent compared to last year, Sohn said.

"As a practical matter, we're back to where we were last year," Sohn said.

Southern Nevada's quick recovery was fueled by recent improvements in the U.S. economy as well as Southern Nevada's high living standards, Sohn said.

"We've seen both consumer confidence and take-home pay rise across the United States," Sohn said. "Those will have a spillover effect into Las Vegas ... and people are also coming in here for the quality of life. This is a good place to live; it's affordable compared to places like California."

Clark County's population grew by nearly 7 percent from February 2001 to February 2002, according to the most recent data from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas' Center for Business and Economic Research. Sohn said continued population growth will boost employment opportunities in the area.

"Anything related to (growth) in population will create more jobs," said Sohn, who cited retail, government and construction as three potentially strong employment areas.

Sohn also downplayed the significance of the federal plan to store high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, which he expects will not hinder short-term growth in Southern Nevada.

"I don't think (Yucca Mountain) will have a lot of impact here," Sohn said. "People hear about it, read about it but it's still in the distance. I don't think it's something that people will change their retirement or job plans over."

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