According to an analyst, Northern Nevada has seen 93 straight months of economic growth. The Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada, or EDAWN as it is called, “State Of The Economy” luncheon on Thursday emphasized that business is booming here. Jobs were the focus of the event. Job growth in the past, right now, and what could effect growth in the future.
“10,000 jobs were created in the last 12 month alone. Congrats to you,” said Applied Analysis principal analyst Jeremy Aguero to the crowd.
Aguero was a speaker at the State Of The Economy and he was excited to talk about the economy in the Reno metropolitan statistical area. That area covers Reno, Sparks, Fernley, and Tahoe.
The area has seen significant growth over the last 5 years, and the last decade. “People coming to the area are not only bringing in new businesses, but also new employees. Not necessarily for the businesses moving in, but also for the businesses that are here that are continuing to expand,” said Aguero. “We've attracted several technology companies and corporate headquarters, which brings decision makers and key people to the region. It also brings air traffic and fills our rooms with conferences and conventions. It does other things as well,” said EDAWN President and CEO Mike Kazmierski.
Aguero claims that in the last 12 month alone, 10-thousand jobs have been added in the area. “This area is leading the nation in population growth, employment growth, wage and salary increases,” said Aguero.
EDAWN claims that the average income of added jobs in 2019 was more than $64,000. Reno was also rated one of the top 25 cities in the country with 60 percent job growth, according to the Mckinsey Global Institute. But along with positive growth, comes negatives as well. We've got some real challenge such as education, infrastructure, and housing. And these are things that are not going away. We are sort of celebrating because we've had a decade of economic growth. In order to have that continue, we are going to have to handle some of the real challenges that lay on the horizon,” said Aguero.
Kazmierski is pushing for solutions to these issues. “If we can address affordable housing, by building more housing, we actually affect and impact the many other issues,” he replied.
The need for public support toward improving education is also an issue. “If we don't do that, we will not have a trained workforce in the years ahead,” said Kazmierski.
Some other good news coming out of the luncheon is that a new medical technology company, Daya Med will be moving their headquarters to the Reno area. The job brings 300 jobs with an average wage of $40 an hour.
