Scene in Passing: Beyond economic green shoots? Bet on it

It wasn’t that long ago that reports on the economy flirted with the metaphorical idea of green shoots. But it’s time to look closer.

Green shoots turned to buds, in some cases even blossoming, as growth evidence mounted in Carson City’s region and elsewhere.

The Institute for Supply Management report showed a third straight monthly boost by industry. Of 18 manufacturing sectors, the ISM reported, 15 were in growth mode. New orders, production and employment increased last month and inventories were contracting, all upbeat news.

Existing-home sales nationally continued trending upward, according to the National Home Sales Snapshot released by DataQuick. Sales volume was 20.6 percent more than last year’s comparable cycle peak. Home prices were 14.2 percent higher than during the same period a year ago.

Unemployment remains stubbornly high, but economists say receding joblessness always is a lagging indicator. This part of the picture is unlikely to be stellar soon, anywhere, but buds are slowly displacing green shoots. And folks keep working on the problem, helping employers and prospective employees.

The Nevada Industry Excellence outfit cites National Association of Manufacturers data in saying “manufacturing is one of the backbones of Nevada and accounts for 86 percent of the state’s exports.” The Sandoval administration is striving to build on that.

In a release from Nevada Industry Excellence, the organization said it is joining with Northern Nevada Development Authority and Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada to bring the Sierra Region Manufacturers Conference to the Carson Nugget Casino on Wednesday, Oct. 9.

A few days earlier, on Friday, Oct. 5, an indicator of painstaking yet important progress on the jobs front will occur once again. A third jobs fair is planned for 2-5 p.m. that day. It is sponsored by Carson City’s Health and Human Services Department, the Chamber of Commerce and Job Opportunities in Nevada.

Two prior such job fairs resulted in at least 102 jobs, organizers say, representing significant efforts in chipping away at unemployment.

City private- and public-sector officials, quite appropriately, applauded recent news that Sportsman’s Warehouse will have 50 employees in when it opens a store in Carson Mall next April. But job fairs that produce on average 50 jobs each time are providing threefold that number this year, if the next one’s success matches the first two.

Green shoots? Hardly. It’s bud-to-blossom time for a while.

John Barrette covers Carson City government and business. He can be reached at jbarrette@nevadaappeal.com.