Las Vegas NowMixed Economic Outlook Ahead

Mixed Economic Outlook Ahead

It may take a little longer for Las Vegas to bounce back from the recession. The housing market, unemployment and tourism are all indicators that things may take a little longer to rebound.

Eyewitness news reporter chris saldana is here with more on the midyear economic outlook released by unlv today.

Seventy-one pages of charts and graphs were released by UNLV, with a lot of information that shows the recession in Las Vegas is deeper than the rest of the country because the unemployment rate is higher than the national average, tourism numbers are down, and the housing market is a mess.

"We had a bigger housing problem here. We were one of the four states with a serious housing bubble. We still have foreclosures out there at a very high rate -- likely to continue," said UNLV economics professor Keith Schwer.

Schwer delivered the grim outlook to members of the business community, eager to see where Las Vegas stands. The unemployment numbers are expected to climb once again, surpassing the national average. He says this will most likely happen because construction will be slow, leading to more foreclosures.

Michael Campell has been in the real estate business for nearly 30 years. He was not surprised with what he heard today. "The Las Vegas valley was overbuilt and there is a tremendous supply of resale homes where there's been great absorption the last few months. There's still plenty in the market and more foreclosures ahead," he said.

There were some positive signs in the report: One good sign is that claims for unemployment insurance have dropped in southern Nevada. Schwer says that typically occurs when the economy bottoms out.

It also helps that the local travel and tourism industry is working non-stop to get more people to travel to Las Vegas.

With CityCenter opening soon and the Hard Rock expanding, there will be more jobs. But until people are secure with their jobs, they are expected to be cautious about spending on items like leisure travel.