Las Vegas Fifth Worst Economy

According to a survey conducted by an international organization Las Vegas ranks as the world’s fifth worst economy and chances of a revival are pretty bleak. The survey has been conducted by The Brookings Institution and London School of Economics study placed Las Vegas in fifth position from the bottom of 150 urban areas, it stated that Las Vegas’ economy is heavily dependable on tourism and huge development projects.

Only Dublin, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Barcelona, Spain; and Thessaloniki, Greece are worse off than Las Vegas. Rankings have been based on the following criteria: employment, employment increase and profits.  From 1993 to 2007 Las Vegas was the world’s 14th best economy, based on a feasibility study that has been published by the Las Vegas Sun on Tuesday.

Las Vegas started sliding backwards as a result of the economical slump in 2008, it dropped to 128^th position. The report goes further and it states that the majority of U.S cities experienced some form of financial growth not Las Vegas.  Income levels in Las Vegas has declined irrespective of an overall increase by 1.2% across the U.S, matters have further been exacerbated by the declining employment rate of 3 percent, a great deal higher than the national decline of 0.7 percent.

“Las Vegas’ economical recovery could face a long and arduous road ahead,” Alan Berube, said he is the senior research director at Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, informed the Sun. The study also pointed out Las Vegas’ staggering foreclosure percentages.  This region has the second largest amount owed to banks on their houses in the U.S and more than two-thirds of housing credit holders are indebted and can’t pay back the initial cash loaned from bank.

Washington, D.C, Minneapolis, Austin, Texas and San Francisco, have indicated a very strong financial growth amongst highly educated segments of the population, Berube said. Individuals who are well educated are employed in industries where the financial recession’s impact is rather limited.  In the event such individuals lose their jobs they are easy employed again in comparison to those individuals who are not as well educated or skilled”, he said.

It is imperative one encourages young individuals in Las Vegas to rather study for a college or university degree than enter the entertainment industry immediately, as it stands only 22% percent of the population in Vegas have some form of college degree.  Overall the more qualified people you have residing in a specific region the better that region’s economy will do and this is what Las Vegas needs in order to survive and thrive, the report concluded.

“It’s no guarantee that Las Vegas’ pre recession economy can warranty growth in the new economy,” Berube concluded.