The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Labor Market Conditions in Nevada: A Preliminary Assessment

This study provides a preliminary assessment of the impact of the pandemic on labor market conditions in Nevada. The analysis applies a locally weighted regression method (Lowess curve fitting) to time‐series data on weekly initial and continuing unemployment claims. Other measures of labor market outcomes are also included in the analysis. The findings suggest that while baseline conditions were relatively stable, the pandemic has generated an increase in unemployment in Nevada, and a steep rise in the number of unemployed workers covered by unemployment insurance. However, the largest growth in initial weekly unemployment claims may have already occurred. In addition, given the weight of leisure and hospitality in overall nonfarm employment, workers in that sector have been at elevated risk for unemployment. It is also possible that Latino and Asian workers will experience higher levels of unemployment. Finally, the study suggests that a history of inadequate financing has undermined the administrative capacity of the state\u27s unemployment agency, with attendant consequences for its ability to process new claims. Likewise, the volume of continuing claims raises questions about the financial solvency of Nevada\u27s unemployment insurance trust fund

What is Driving Immigrants from El Salvador to Las Vegas? (2000-2010)

The purpose of this study is to examine if death rates due to crime or unemployment drove immigrants from El Salvador to migrate to Las Vegas between the years of 2000 to 2010. This study will be most directly based on the research conducted in the study Unauthorized Immigrant Population: National and State Trends, 2010, conducted by the Pew Research Center. Pew Research Center’s study focuses on finding an estimation on the number of undocumented immigrants that have entered the United States, the number of immigrants that are in the United States workforce, and the trends regarding what states and what cities immigrants are deciding to reside. The importance of my research proposal is that immigration as a topic tends to be biased based on the political climate. Research should be unbiased and should allow a platform where all of the facts surrounding a particular topic can be found. This will allow a deeper discussion surrounding the topic of Salvadoran immigrants in Las Vegas, Nevada, instead of discussing whether immigration is right or wrong based upon an individual’s moral reasoning. It is crucial that we focus on facts and that researchers are committed to unbiased research for the betterment of understanding the necessity of immigration policy reform. Through my research, I hypothesize that there will be a direct correlation to the number of immigrants in Las Vegas from El Salvador due to high unemployment and high homicide rates

Latin American Migrants in the Las Vegas Valley: Civic Engagement and Political Participation

Funded by a grant from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (with support from the MacArthur Foundation), this project is part of a broader national study that examines Latin America migrants in selected cities in the United States. The goal of the project is to explore patterns of civic engagement and political participation among Latin American migrants and Latinos in the Las Vegas, Nevada, metropolitan area. A secondary, but not less important, goal is to understand the factors that contribute to or inhibit the ability of individuals from Latin America to acquire U.S. citizenship. The issues addressed by this study are highly salient in Nevada and the United States, but they also have relevance to researchers and policy analysts who seek to understand the relationship between civic engagement and different forms of political participation in both a local and a binational context

Interstate Migration Among Latinos and the Foreign‐Born Latino Population in Nevada, 2007‐2011

Over the past two decades, Nevada’s foreign‐born Latino population has grown dramatically. As a consequence, by the end of 2011, approximately 42% of Latinos residing in Nevada had emigrated from Latin America, with over three‐fourths of the foreign‐born Latino population originating from Mexico. In part, Nevada has been attractive to Latin American immigrants (and Latinos more generally) because of the relative abundance of jobs in the state that require relatively low levels of skill and educational attainment, as well as the state’s close proximity to Arizona and California. Prior to 2008, Latino employment was concentrated in Nevada’s hospitality, construction, and retail and wholesale trade sectors, as well as other low skilled occupations. However, in the aftermath of the Great Recession of 2008, the residential home construction and hospitality sectors were hard hit, with attendant consequences for patterns of unemployment among the U.S. and foreign‐born Latino population in the state

Immigration and Ethnic Diversity in Nevada

In a few decades, non-Hispanic whites will constitute a bare majority in the United States. If current demographic trends continue, the Hispanic population will double or even triple in size by 2050, the Asian population will double, and the African-American population will grow at a faster pace than non-Hispanic whites, which are actually expected to begin declining by 2025. These developments promise to bring profound changes in the country’s ethnic and racial landscape

The Administrative Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Nevada School Districts: A Pooled Time Series Analysis, 1996-2004

Objective: To examine the administrative prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in all seventeen school districts in Nevada during the period of 1996 to 2004. Methods: Normalized administrative prevalence rates (per 1,000 children ages 6-17) for ASD, Mental Retardation (MR), Learning Disability (LD), and Speech and Language Impairment (SLI) were calculated. Covariates for board certified pediatricians per 1,000 students, Federal special education funding per student, and other measures of school resources were employed. Models were estimated with pooled Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression with panel corrected standard errors. A separate analysis compared pooled OLS results to results from Latent Growth Curve models (LCGM) Results: The average administrative prevalence of ASD in Nevada school districts increased from .56 per 1,000 in 1996 to 2.37 per 1,000 in 2004. The upward trajectory of ASD prevalence during the time series was not associated with declines in MR, LD or SLI prevalence. Federal funds distributed partly for detection of disabilities was associated with ASD prevalence (

The Impact of the Great Recession on Nevada’s Latino Community

The emergence of the Great Recession of 2008 had a profound impact in Nevada. The economic downturn generated high unemployment levels and led to turbulence in many sectors, particularly residential home construction and the hospitality industry. In the wake of the crisis, median home prices in Nevada plunged, while the residential foreclosure rate increased and remains one of the highest rates in the country. By 2009, it was evident that a tightening of commercial bank lending for new mortgages, combined with the impact of rising joblessness and plunging housing values, was hampering recovery efforts in the housing sector and Nevada’s economy more generally. As a result of these trends, residential home construction – the engine of employment growth in Nevada since 2000 – came to a virtual standstill

A Political Profile of Nevada’s Latino Population

Over the course of the past decade, Nevada’s Latino population has grown appreciably. Immigrants from Mexico and other parts of Latin America accounted for most of the growth in the state’s Latino population during this period. Nevertheless, the number of U.S.‐born and naturalized Latinos residing in Nevada has also increased, and this growth has altered the political landscape of the state. Indeed, the density of Latinos in the Nevada’s electorate expanded steadily between 2000 and 2010 (see Figure 3). Although recent studies have pointed to the potential significance of Nevada’s growing Latino electorate, the influences on Latino political participation in the state remain poorly understood. In this paper, we attempt to fill this gap by developing a political profile of Nevada’s Latino community. We begin by examining how two important electoral institutions – redistricting and term limits – affected Latino representation between 2000 and 2013. Next, we present aggregate data detailing turnout patterns among Latino voters in the 2000–2012 elections in Nevada. The third part of our analysis offers an individual level examination of Latino participation in the 2012 election, including analysis of presidential vote preferences by gender, age, education, and income, as well as an assessment of the geography of the Latino electorate in Clark County. We conclude by examining how increased participation and mobilization of Nevada’s Latino community has reshaped Nevada’s political landscape. The Appendix provides an overview of the data sources used here including discussions of the methodological issues that the use of these data raises

Immigration and the Contours of Nevada’s Latino Population

Since the early 1980s, Nevada has experienced significant demographic change. In particular, the ethnic composition of the state has become considerably more diverse. Although growth in the Asian population is one of the sources of Nevada’s growing diversity, Nevada’s Latino population has also accounted for much recent demographic and social change. Except for brief periods following the emergence of the Great Recession of 2008, the Latino population of Nevada has experienced sustained annual growth over the past two decades. Perhaps more important, much of the growth in the Latino population has been associated with immigration, principally from Mexico and other parts of Central America. In this study, we analyze data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Decennial Census and American Community Survey to examine the drivers of Latino population growth. The first part of the paper provides an overview of the growth in Nevada’s Latino population, with a focus on the age structure and the concentration of the population in certain metropolitan areas and counties. In part two, we examine the contribution of Latin American immigration to the state’s Latino population. From there, we move to a discussion of the factors that have shaped migration flows from Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador (and other parts Latin America). In so doing, our analysis allows us to consider what makes Nevada attractive as a “destination state” to immigrants. The paper concludes by exploring some of the implications of immigration and growth in the Latino population

Climbing the Social Ladder: Asian American Education and Social Mobility Across the United States

As the fastest-growing ethnic group in southern Nevada, Asian Americans comprise 8.6% of Nevada’s population and 10.28% of Clark County’s population. Despite the rapid growth of the Asian American community in southern Nevada, Asian Americans are constantly facing obstacles that inhibit them from moving up the socioeconomic ladder mainly due to the lack of opportunity, policies, and resources. This research paper examines whether education influences socioeconomic advancement of Asian Americans, and whether the relationship between the two variables is conditioned by other factors, including social capital. A secondary goal is to examine whether the relationship between education and social mobility varies among different sub-groups of Asian Americans, including South Asians. Lastly, the thesis offers simple, tangible solutions to these problems. The research methodology of the thesis drew on analysis of recent, empirical studies by scholars who have examined and documented the determinants and levels of socioeconomic levels and educational attainment of Asian Americans in the United States. The thesis also provides an empirical analysis that are based on data from the Asian American Survey, which is a representative sample that includes data on educational attainment, social capital, and various ethnic and immigrant groups, including different Asian American sub-groups. The main findings of the research thesis indicated that education provides critical skills for social mobility as it provides individuals more leverage in the labor market in order to earn a higher salary.https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/durep_podium/1023/thumbnail.jp