New ‘Piglet Book’ Cites Wasteful Spending By Nevada State And Local Government Agencies

Real gross domestic product (GDP), the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States, increased at an annual rate of 1.7 percent in the second quarter of 2010 from the first quarter to the second quarter), according to the “third” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the first quarter, real GDP increased 3.7 percent.

The GDP estimate released today is based on more complete source data than were available for the “second” estimate issued last month. In the second estimate, the increase in real GDP was 1.6 percent. Read the rest of this entry »

Nevada Poverty Rate Increases in 2009, Remains Lower Than Most Other States
By Sean Whaley (Nevada News Bureau)

CARSON CITY – The percentage of people living in poverty in Nevada increased to 12.4 percent in 2009 from 11.6 percent in 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau reported this week.

A total of 321,940 Nevadans were estimated to be living below the poverty level in 2009, an increase of more than 25,000 from the prior year, according to the census data.

The national poverty rate was estimated at 14.3 percent in 2009, up a full percentage point from 2008. Nearly 43 million people nationwide are living in poverty.

Nevada’s poverty rate is lower than many other states, according to the data. Nineteen states had lower poverty rates than Nevada.

Only five states had estimated poverty rates lower than 10 percent – Alaska, Connecticut, Maryland, New Hampshire and New Jersey. On the other side of the distribution, ?ve states had estimated poverty rates at or above 17 percent in 2009 – Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and West Virginia.

Poverty rates ranged from a low of 8.5 percent in New Hampshire to a high of 21.9 percent in Mississippi.

If you want media, you’ve got to be ready for it. Media placement from a PR firm like Stern And Company is important, but it is only part of the game. Frankly, it’s probably less than half of a Media Relations campaign.

While it’s important to have periodic stories that focus almost, if not solely on your company, they are general few and far beween, especially in your company’s specific market(s). More frequent are “round up” stories regarding breaking news in which companies are called upon to comment.

Most of these stories involve business or regulation, on a state or national level and for any number of reasons, not the least of which is “ink,” it’s important for you to be informed.

National and local reporters write about “The Employment Situation,” as the Department of Labor calls its “unemployment” news release disseminated the first Friday of each month. They write “trade inventories,” formerly known as the “wholesale trade” report; the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Consumer Price Index and many others.

All of these economic indicators has some sort of impact on business and frequently the media seeks out “regular” business people for a comment, as well as economists and major players in the world of business.  To be quoted in the same story as nationally known business leaders and economists almost automatically elevates the perception of you as an expert. As such, the germ of visibility is planted and grows over time to a point where calls on economic and business issues will increase.

As such, so will your visibility and that of your company.

The Department of Labor reported today that “of the 49 metropolitan areas with a Census 2000 population of 1 million or more, Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., and Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., registered the [nation’s] highest unemployment rates in August, 14.8 and 14.7 percent, respectively. 

The report said that unemployment rates were lower in August than a year earlier in 182 of the 372 metropolitan areas, higher in 169 areas, and unchanged in 21 areas. Nonfarm payroll employment was down over the year in 193 metropolitan areas, up in 165 areas, and unchanged in 14 areas. 

Click here for the full report.