Douglas a good bet in long run

Douglas County's percentage of unemployed workers is higher than the average for Nevada or California, since the county has large numbers of workers on both sides of the line.

The county's unemployment number jumped from 8.5 percent to 9.5 percent from November to December.

Since Douglas provides workers to at least two ski resorts, and several casinos at Stateline, being in trouble in two states is just double the trouble.

The conventional wisdom is that it takes two years before any improvement in California's economy spreads to Western Nevada.

With California leading the way to the bottom of the recession in the West, that means we're looking at a slightly longer delay before we hit bottom here and bounce.

Certainly, the housing market isn't showing any sign of picking up again and with gaming flat and sales slowing, things are adding up to make a pretty grim picture.

Now for the reality check: Douglas County has increased its population and work force by leaps and bounds for 40 straight years.

One need only look at the assessed valuation over the last 20 years to see how the county's economy has grown. In 1988, county property was worth less than $686 million. As of last month, it was $3.36 billion, having increased nearly five times in the last 20 years.

Small comfort in the short run, but an indication that sticking it out during the hard times will be well worth the struggle.