During the height of America's housing boom, Nevada became not only a place to enjoy the excesses of the nation's gambling capital, but it also adopted a reputation for being a relatively affordable place to raise a family.
Single and multi-family homes dotted wide swaths of desert lands as the housing market boomed. And with this rise came major commercial projects including CityCenter, the largest privately financed construction project in the U.S. featuring hotels, casinos and office buildings that span across 76 acres.
But there are few signs of progress visible today. With an unemployment rate at 14.3% as of November 2010, Nevada has for several months been the state with one of the worst job markets in the country. What's worse is that unemployment is creeping higher -- a year earlier the rate was 12.9%.
The state's grave job market reflects its reliance on industries hit hard by the economic recession: construction and gambling.
Robert Lang, sociology professor studying Nevada's economy, says the state is only now realizing it must diversify its economy -- creating jobs, for instance, through developments in alternative energy and other areas.
But it won't be easy. Las Vegas is the least educated major metropolitan area in the West with roughly 19% of residents having a bachelor's degree compared with 31% in North New Mexico and 27% in the Phoenix area. The education makeup makes the area difficult to diversify its economy beyond gambling and gaming.
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