Southern Nevada is expected to add the equivalent of Henderson’s population in the next decade, and the unemployment rate, as well as growth, is expected to stabilize, according to a report from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Amid an ongoing dip in gaming and visitor numbers in Las Vegas, questions have continued to swirl about our local economy.

Only one job sector’s real wage in Clark County has kept up with the rate of inflation since the end of the pandemic, leading to the region’s growing affordability gap, according to a UNLV economist. And it’s not the hospitality sector, which drives the region’s economy.

Since the early 2000s, a fall in employment in the state of Nevada has preceded a broader U.S. recession. It makes sense why—the economic fortunes of Las Vegas, which make up a big part of the state’s overall economy, are intimately tied to consumers’ comfort with spending. Host Alex Ossola speaks with Andrew Woods, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, about what the state data shows now, and what it says about the health of the U.S. economy. This is part one of our four-part series on alternative economic indicators.

Businesses have lost confidence in the economy, according to a UNLV report that will be released publicly next week. The dramatic decline in confidence happened quickly, plunging since a recent survey last quarter, and has reached depths that haven’t been seen in more than a decade, according to Andrew Woods, director of UNLV’s Center for Business and Economic Research.

Mention Las Vegas to just about anyone, and images of the Strip with its bright lights, casinos, and unmatched energy likely come to mind. But beneath the shine, Las Vegas isn’t having its best moment. Although it might not be obvious to the average visitor, the city has been quietly battling a slowdown.

The first icy storm of the season left a dusting of snow here Wednesday morning. As the gray shroud lifted with the sunrise, the timeworn exteriors of this quintessential Nevada town almost sparkled in the light as it peeked through parting clouds.

Bogdan Popa was feeling discouraged at a September job fair at Boulevard Mall. He was out of work, and he wanted to stand out among job-seekers by meeting recruiters in person. Instead, he kept being directed to online applications. The job search was making him depressed, he said.