Is Las Vegas the Next Detroit?

Ran across an interestting article from a former Detroiter, Mary Riddel turned economics professor at UNLV comparing the problems staring at Las Vegas with the problems that hit Detroit (and Michigan) in the 1970's and continue today.

As we all know from living here, Michigan and Detroit have struggled to diversify their economy away from the auto industry, and have also fallen behind in educating their workforce. In fact, Michigan's population just dropped below 10,000,000 for the first time since 2000. (See, Michigan's population drops below 10M). Ms. Riddel warns that Las Vegas may be facing the same fate.

With the economy still reeling, an overreliance on gaming and the travel and leisure industry has left Las Vegas suffering more than most. From the article:

"Let's be careful comparing Las Vegas to Pittsburgh and Detroit because our story hasn't played out yet," she said. "But it's in decline. We have increased competition. We had massive home price increases. There were people smart enough to say, 'I can't afford to buy a home.' I don't know how many people.

"We're at a crossroad. We don't need any more houses. The gaming industry doesn't need any more expansion. What about new industries? What can we take from Detroit? What can we do better and cheaper than other places? What are our resources?"

Will Las Vegas look to Detroit's struggles and try to diversify their business base? Will the economy turn around and Las Vegas reclaim its footing? Or, will Las Vegas become the next Detroit?

For more information, please see Does Las Vegas face a similar fate as down-and-out Detroit?

Forbes Ranks Michigan Cities Among the Worst for Jobs

Many of you may or not know that this blog and Wholesale Bingo Supplies are located in Jackson, Michigan. Therefore, we can tell you firsthand that Michigan has been hit extremely hard with a poor economy for a number of years now. Still, to have Jackson given the distinction of "Worst Small City" for jobs by Forbes magazine was surprising.

From Forbes:

"Given the failing auto industry, it's no surprise Jackson tops the list of worst small cities for jobs. Located in the South Central area of Michigan, the city's two largest employers are CMS Energy, Michigan's main electric and natural gas utility, and Michigan Automotive Compressor, which produces air conditioning compressors and magnetic clutches for cars. Between 2003 and 2008, jobs in the natural resources, mining and construction sector dropped almost 30%; those in manufacturing dropped 13.5%. Overall employment has declined 9.2% since 1997."

Jackson wasn't alone. Four other Michigan cities are ranked in the top ten.

For the complete story, please see Brad Flory, Jackson's job market earns city 'worst' distinction from Forbes magazine, Jackson Citizen Patriot, April 30, 2009.