Everyone knows that Nevada’s economy has been decimated by the effects of COVID-19 but we rarely look at the actual numbers. So let’s do it. The following local and national statistics have been compiled from a story from The Nevada Independent (The Indy), Alignable’s Road to Recovery Report, and data from UNLV’S Lee Business School’s Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER).
The Indy notes that, “Nearly a quarter of companies across the country closed temporarily or permanently in March and April, according to a National Bureau of Economic Research study, despite efforts to keep businesses afloat, such as the Payment Protection Program (PPP), commercial rental assistance and eviction moratoriums” Additionally, “Two-thirds of the 2,630 Southern Nevada businesses that responded to an Applied Analysis survey presented at the Clark County Commission meeting this week said they are experiencing a decline in sales and revenue as compared to 2019, with 58 percent seeing a decline of more than 25 percent.”
Alignable’s Road to Recovery Report is composed of surveys from hundreds of business owners. The most recent edition contains the following self-reported statistics:
- 43% of businesses that received federal funding reported they too would be out of cash in July.”
- 94% of closed businesses intend to reopen
- 23% of Pre-COVID employees are currently off the payroll
- Businesses anticipate 90% re-employment by January 2021
UNLV’S Center for Business and Economic Research provides the following local economic data. Nevada’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was around 3.5% in January 2020 and around 15% in June 2020 which was up 285% over last year. Clark County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was at 29.3% as of May 2020 which is drastically higher than January’s 3.8%. Gross gaming revenue dropped from $1,037,532,116 in January to $5,871,880 in May and is down 99.4% from what it was a year ago. The Las Vegas hotel/motel occupancy rate was at 2.8% as of May 2020 down from 85.9% in January of this year.
