Monday, July 13, 2015 | 10:58 a.m.
The economy of Las Vegas got off to a slow start in 2015 compared to its neighboring metropolitan areas, with a slight increase in unemployment and growth in economic output that lagged behind the rest of the region, according to a report released today from the think tank Brookings Mountain West.
Southern Nevada's economic recovery progressed "relatively meekly" in the first quarter of 2015, according to the report.
Despite economic headwinds, the Mountain West region — which in addition to Las Vegas includes nine metropolitan areas in Utah, Arizona, Idaho, Colorado and New Mexico — fared well during the first three months of the year, with economic output growing by 0.3 percent, compared to a 0.2 percent decline nationally.
However, Las Vegas's economic output grew by 0.1 percent, reversing a slight decline from the previous quarter but still trailing the regional average. Unemployment in Southern Nevada rose by 0.1 percent to 7.2 percent, the only major city in the area with an increase, while the number of jobs grew by just 0.5 percent, about half the regional average. Home prices in Las Vegas increased 1.9 percent in the last quarter and 10.9 percent over the last year.
Provo, Utah, turned in the best first-quarter performance in the region, with the unemployment falling to 3.0 percent.
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