Diversifying the Las Vegas economy post pandemic
By: Joe Moeller
Posted at 8:10 PM, Jul 07, 2023 and last updated 8:10 PM, Jul 07, 2023
LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — With the economy on everyone’s mind… there’s encouraging news if you’re looking for a job.
But while new jobs are being created here and across the country… experts say interest rates are likely to rise again costing all of us more.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows 209,000 jobs were added in June. That is slightly lower than what some expected.
Meanwhile, payroll company ADP reports 497,000 jobs were added last month. That is much higher than expected.
While job growth in Las Vegas has rebounded since the pandemic, economists continue to warn about the need for us to diversify away from leisure and hospitality.
We spoke to one man who says moving his business from New York to Las Vegas was a gamble that paid off.
Paolo Tiramani is the CEO of Boxabl. The company makes small homes that can be packaged up and sent around the world.
“We are two years old, we have built 200 homes we are building a home now, two a day and we will be down to 20 minutes by the end of the year,” Tiramani said.
The CEO gave Anchor Reporter Joe Moeller a look around at where they are built.
According to Tiramani, the homes are steel, concrete and insulation. “We have a forever mentality for how long they should last.”
He moved here from New York to open up shop, saying, “to do it in New York would have been impossible, first of all back to the taxes, second the friction of government.”
For years, the state has been working to attract new businesses to diversify our economy beyond the tourism and hospitality industries.
The pandemic showed that when the economy shut down, so did our number one industry.
John Restrepo of RCG Economics talked with us about what still needs to happen in our area.
We have made great strides, but we still have a way to go we probably remain the most vulnerable metro economy in the country, still when we have downturns…we have some challenges in front of us of the skill level of the workforce .. we have the water situation now we are (SPELL)
He says southern Nevada has grown in the logistics industries witht he proximity to California, now the focus is shifting.
“The focus right now is how do grow our advanced manufacturing sector, those are the folks that get paid the highest, high skill levels, and great benefits.”
Tiramani says his business here is growing as he looks to hire a lot more people in the near future.
