Nevada Briefs - August 2005

Nevada Briefs

Strong Nevada Job Market Predicted

Nevada employers expect to hire at a vigorous pace during the third quarter of 2005, according to the "Manpower Employment Outlook Survey" recently released by the employment services firm Manpower Inc. National results reveal that U.S. employers expect the third quarter to show a continuation of the stable hiring pattern they have reported since the beginning of the year.

The following table shows the percentage of employers who plan to change or maintain the size of their workforce during the third quarter of 2005 (July, August and September).

Region	Increase	No Change	Decrease	Don’t Know
Las Vegas	57%	40%	0%	3%
Reno	52%	41%	7%	0%
Nevada average	54%	41%	3%	2%
U.S. average	31%	57%	6%	6%

BankWest to Open New Facility

BankWest of Nevada has begun construction on a 6,500-square-foot, full-service banking facility in the fast-growing Centennial Hills area of northwest Las Vegas. The bank, located at 8533 W. Centennial Parkway, is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2005. BankWest is Nevada’s largest independent bank, with five offices in Clark County and four new offices planned for the near future.

Wi-Fi Arrives at Reno Airport

SBC Communications Inc. and the Reno-Tahoe International Airport recently announced SBC FreedomLink Wi-Fi (high-speed wireless Internet) service is available throughout the airport at all gates, ticket and rental car counters and the baggage claim area. The SBC Wi-Fi service allows travelers to use laptop computers and personal digital assistants (PDAs) to wirelessly connect to the Internet and corporate networks at speeds 50 to 100 times faster than a dial-up connection. The availability of Wi-Fi connectivity at the airport will provide added convenience for millions of travelers to conduct business and stay connected while between flights, according to Krys Bart, executive director of Reno-Tahoe International Airport.

Nevada Oil and Gas Sale Nets Record Bids

A record-breaking quarterly sale of Nevada oil and gas leases netted close to $3.1 million for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The state of Nevada will receive half the revenue collected from the sale. The BLM announced that the total bids and fees received, along with the number of acres sold, were by far the highest seen in the14 years of the BLM’s competitive oil and gas lease sales in Nevada. The BLM sold 163 of the 344 parcels offered for this sale, for a total of 335,537 acres. According to John Menghini, petroleum engineer for the BLM Nevada Division of Minerals Management, interest in this sale was higher than usual because of strong global oil and gas prices, pending national energy legislation and discoveries in surrounding states. "Nevada’s potential for oil and natural gas production is largely unexplored," Menghini said. "For those in the energy industry, Nevada is the next frontier in oil and gas exploration." Nevada’s oil production has centered around Railroad Valley, about 50 miles southwest of Ely.