I’ve lived through the anti-Vietnam years in the 1960s, the gas crisis of the 1970s, the real estate meltdown in the late 1980s, and the Great Recession of 2008, but have never seen anything like the pandemic of COVID-19 in my lifetime. To ease the impact, we must do the following to get the Nevada economy back on track.
Tech innovation is prompting transformation so significant it’s often referred to as a fourth industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0. Industry 4.0 technologies range from facial recognition software to voice-activated virtual assistants and self-driving delivery trucks, to name a few.
Most Americans know that the Decennial Census is important for Congressional reapportionment and redistricting. They also realize it assists in evaluating and understanding demographic trends at the state and national level. But many don’t realize that population count and demographic statistics also have fiscal impacts, particularly in the allotment and distribution of federal funds related to education, health care, children’s programs, transportation and infrastructure, HUD assistance and social services.
On March 1, the Nevada Gaming Control Board, regulator of all gaming activities and licenses in Nevada, will enforce a new regulation requiring any gaming licensee with 15 or more employees —including casinos, bars and taverns with gaming, slot route operators, manufacturers and others — to have on-site policiesand procedures prohibiting discrimination and harassment, with a special emphasis on sexual harassment.
Nonstop e-mails, endless meetings, and 24-7 connectedness are crippling employees’ ability to think, focus, solve problems and do the deep work a company needs to stay competitive. And here’s the real question: What are we going to do about it?
First, the good news. Economic development efforts in Southern Nevada over the last decade have resulted in unprecedented business growth. That growth, coupled with our region’s low employment, means that today there is fierce competition among employers for a skilled and diverse workforce.
While Nevada continues to be a “retiree haven” based primarily on mature wealth, there’s been a sea change in who has wealth today as new generations reside here. It’s no longer just older retirees and seasonal snowbirds, as more and more younger business entrepreneurs are staying and growing wealth here. In 2018, the median age in Nevada was 38 with millennials and Gen-Xers accounting for almost half (47 percent) of the state’s population.
Technology can unite or divide us. On one hand, we now have the ability to process copious amounts of data to better understand and provide personally relevant information and services to customers and others. On the other hand, we risk annoying and, worse, alienating people if we don’t use the tools of digital personalization correctly.
Nevada employers will soon have a very important New Year’s resolution to complete: complying with the state’s first-ever paid leave law. Effective Jan. 1, all private employers with 50 or more employees in Nevada will have to provide employees with up to 40 hours of paid leave per benefit year.