State: Nevada sales up 4.2 percent in September

Nevada merchants sold $3.7 billion in goods in September, on which the state collected nearly $293 million in gross sales and use taxes.

The report marks the 27th consecutive month of improved sales and comes a day before an independent panel of business finance experts meets to project how much tax money Nevada will take in over the next two years. The forecast by the Economic Forum must be used by the governor and state lawmakers to build a state budget. Any spending proposals that exceed forum projections must identify a funding source.

In southern Nevada's Clark County — the state's population and tourism mecca — sales in September rose 4.9 percent, while Washoe County, which includes Reno, reported an increase of 9.1 percent.

Eight of Nevada's 17 counties reported increased sales over September 2011, with Churchill, Esmeralda, Eureka, Lander, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral and Pershing counties being the exceptions.

Sales of building materials and garden equipment supplies — classified as construction sales — jumped 20 percent in September. That industry in particular was hard hit by the Great Recession when Nevada's once-booming housing industry imploded, leading to record foreclosures and roughly 60 percent of homeowners owing more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.