Job growth in the Las Vegas metropolitan area continues at a very brisk pace. A total of 32,300 new jobs were added over the past 12 months, representing a very strong annual growth rate of 3.3%. For perspective, the U.S. as a whole is growing at around 1.6%, or half the rate of Las Vegas. Even as jobs are added to the local economy, the unemployment rate is still higher than one would expect...

The counties covered by this report—Los Angeles, San Diego, San Bernardino, Orange, and Riverside—added a very modest 47,400 new jobs between August 2017 and August 2018. Even as job growth slowed, the unemployment rate dropped from 4.9% to 4.4%. Employment growth in Southern California has started to taper, due primarily to a slowing in employment gains in the large Los Angeles County market...

Washington State continues to be one of the fastest growing states in the nation and there is little to suggest that there will be any marked slowdown in the foreseeable future. Over the past year, the state has added 105,900 new jobs, representing an annual growth rate of 3.2%. This remains well above the national rate of 1.65%. Private sector employment gains continue to be robust...

Owning a home provides a sense of security, but the process of building towards homeownership can be overwhelming. There are obstacles that can get in the way of even the most diligent prospective buyer. For Zaharra Karungi, there were dozens of opportunities to see her dream of buying a home for herself and her daughter waylaid. But with hard work, a thoughtful lender, a baseball game, and a...