Sales of tangible goods surge 5.3 percent statewide

Burgers, Buicks and bureaus helped push up retail sales across Nevada in December.

Sales of tangible goods jumped 5.3 percent statewide year over year in the month, to $5.12 billion, the state Department of Taxation reported Thursday.

Sales in Clark County rose 5.5 percent in the same period, to $3.8 billion.

The biggest local spending category — bars and restaurants, at 20 percent of the total — jumped 6 percent, to $760.7 million.

Dealers of cars and car parts posted a 3.8 percent improvement, to $355.7 million.

Other sectors that grew noticeably included furniture stores — up 4.9 percent — and retailers of building materials and garden equipment and supplies — up 7.4 percent.

Spending on construction-related goods surged 31.9 percent, to $87.4 million, though it remained a small share of the total, at 2.3 percent of all purchases.

Gross revenue collections from sales and use taxes, which help fund prisons and schools, totaled $397.7 million in December, up 5.1 percent year to year.

For the fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30, the general fund's share of sales and use taxes was 1.2 percent, or $6.8 million, below forecasts of the Economic Forum, a nonpartisan group that projects revenue for state budgets.

— Contact Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com. Find @_JRobison on Twitter.