By Adam Laxalt
Nevada’s economy is soaring. The President visited this weekend to get an update from the front-lines on the results of his administration’s policies on jobs and the economy. I was happy to be able to tell him that, here in Nevada, we are leading America’s economic comeback.
Adam Laxalt
No other state in the country was hit harder by the recession. Families from across Nevada lost their homes, their jobs, their sense of purpose and dignity. Today, our economy has been restored. We’ve got a lot more to do, but Nevada has clawed back from the brink of disaster and is stronger than ever.
We’ve been growing about 40,000 new jobs per year. We’ve got our lowest unemployment rate in more than a decade. And the incredible economic boom in Nevada isn’t just taking place in Reno and Las Vegas. In fact, Eureka County has our state’s lowest unemployment rate, at 2.9 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And Eureka is not alone. Lincoln, White Pine and many other rural counties are under 5 percent unemployment.
Right now, manufacturing jobs are growing at the fastest rate. This past year, we’ve seen construction jobs go up by about 8%. Major projects are under way, right now, all over the state.
It’s not just big companies. Mom and pop shops with fewer than 100 employees are growing. We’re at a record high for small business jobs: 632,000 jobs—18,300 new small business jobs in the last year.
Tax cuts have helped Nevada tremendously. The tax reform that the President fought for has led to pay raises, bonuses for crew members, more quality jobs, project expansions, and more. They were willing to step up and make a difference, and because of that workers in Nevada have more money in their pocket every week.
Now, Nevada has the fastest growing private sector in the country. As strong as the national economy is, our job growth rate is nearly double the national average.
It’s not just that we’ve got more jobs. These are good-paying jobs. Jobs with wages that can provide for your family. Wages are at a record high.
Thanks to pro-growth federal policy, the continued leadership of Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, and the efforts and ingenuity of Nevada’s businesses and workers, we’re showing the world what a comeback looks like. We’ve still got more to do. We need to be smart, and not follow corrupt career politicians like Steve Sisolak down the failed road to states like California.
Nevada is an exceptional place. It’s always been a place where if you worked hard, you could do anything. My great-grandfather was a sheepherder. His son became governor. Las Vegas was sand in a desert. Today it enshrines the American dream. We took it from nothing to one of the largest tourist attractions in the world.
Nevada is a place where hard work and innovation have always been rewarded. We must not lose Nevada’s exceptionalism.
We need to fight to keep taxes low—we can’t go back to the tax-and-spend approach that Steve Sisolak pushes.
We need to get rid of regulations that are still holding jobs back. We need to fix our schools so that Nevada students graduate ready to work. We need to protect Nevadans so crime doesn’t chase away businesses.
I’m grateful that the President came to see the progress that his policies have helped create first hand. We’re grateful that they’re cutting taxes and getting government out of the way of progress. I’m looking forward to working with his administration and leaders from both parties to write Nevada’s next chapter in the coming years.
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