Taxable sales in Nevada up 6.3 percent in July

By Cy Ryan

Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014 | 6:10 p.m.

Taxable sales in Nevada rose by 6.3 percent in July, with big gains in restaurants, bars and electronics sales.

The state Taxation Department reported Tuesday that sales totaled $4 billion during the month with increases of 11.2 percent in furniture stores and 6.6 percent in bars and restaurants.

The department said 10 of the 17 counties showed an increase. The largest bump came in Northern Nevada's Storey County, which posted a 771 percent increase to $60.9 million, compared to $6.9 million in June 2013.

Storey County will host the recently announced Tesla plant.

The biggest decline was 54.9 percent in Humboldt County.

The rural counties are prone to wide swings in month-to-month sales activity.

Sales in Clark County rose 8.8 percent to $2.9 billion. It reported an 8.3 percent increase in building materials compared to the same month of a year ago. Restaurants and taverns posted a 6.9 percent jump, furniture store sales rose 13 percent and clothing sales increased 4.6 percent.

Auto sales, a traditionally strong sales area in Clark County, increased only 0.6 percent during the month.

The department reported taxable sales, one indicator of the economy, increased 6.5 percent in Washoe County and rose 4.7 percent in Carson City.

The state collected $79.7 million for the month, up 7 percent from a year ago.