Wednesday, March 19, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- Taxable sales in Clark County jumped by 11.6 percent in January, the 13th straight month of double-digit increases.
Business lagged, however, in the three flood-ravaged Northern Nevada counties.
The state Tax Department reported Tuesday taxable sales statewide rose to $1.8 billion, an increase of 8 percent over January 1996. This was the lowest percentage of gain since March 1995 when sales were up by 7.7 percent.
"You sure can tell we had a flood in January," said Michael Pitlock, director of the Tax Department. "Douglas, Washoe and Carson (City) tell the story."
Taxable sales, an indication of the economy, fell by 17.6 percent in Douglas County and were up only .8 percent in Washoe County and .3 percent in Carson City.
"The flood impacted a lot of businesses and Highway 50 was closed," Pitlock said.
He said it will be interesting to see if business rebounds in February with the repairs and renovations necessitated by the flood.
January, Pitlock said, is "typically not a strong month." But he said business in Southern Nevada continues to be brisk.
"It's about what we expected," Pitlock said. Construction related activities and car sales were good, he said.
Statewide, business in miscellaneous retail stores rose by 15.9 percent, in bars and restaurants by 7.7 percent, in automotive sales by 6.9 percent and in home furniture sales by 15.4 percent.
These taxable sales figures mirror the report on gaming revenues for January, which were up in Clark County by 7.2 percent but fell by 9.7 percent in Washoe County and 17.1 percent at South Lake Tahoe.
The department reported taxable sales fell by 3.4 percent in Elko County and dropped 1.8 percent in Nye County.
So far this fiscal year, the taxable sales have increase by 11.4 percent, about 4 percent above the predictions of state financial experts. Clark County has posted a 14.9 percent gain this fiscal year with Washoe up by 5.1 percent and Carson City with an increase of 2.1 percent.
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