Jan. 15--CARSON CITY, Nev. -- State Controller Kathy Augustine said Wednesday that two new reports issued by her office suggest positive trends for Nevada and show a "significant rebound" from the 2001 nationwide economic slowdown.

Almost every performance indicator, including taxable sales, gaming activity, job growth and income, continued to improve in 2003, she said.

"It appears Nevada is emerging from the economic slowdown in solid shape," Augustine said in a statement. "While a return to the extremely strong growth of the 1990s is not likely, economic trends in our state are still expected to be impressive, both in absolute terms and relative to the rest of the nation."

In fiscal year 2003, which ended June 30, taxable sales growth accelerated to a 6.3 percent pace over 2002. It was a big jump over the previous year, when growth was only 0.8 percent.

Total gaming win was also up in 2003, by 1.1 percent, with fairly equal contributions from slot machines and table games. Gaming win was down 2.8 percent the previous year.

Job growth and overall economic growth in the state exceeded the national average in 2003, with job levels increasing in the last 11 months of the fiscal year.

General fund revenue growth, which is dependent on the health of the state economy, also returned to more normal levels in fiscal year 2003.

The reports contain a variety of data, from revenue from film productions to the total number of passengers arriving and departing from the state's airports.

Airport arrivals and departures in 2003 were 40,622,353, up 3.8 percent over 2002.

The number of hotel and motel rooms in Nevada increased by 1.3 percent to 177,103 in 2003 from the previous year.

Film production brought $104.2 million in revenue into the state economy in 2003 as a result of 2,306 production days on 618 projects.

Other statistics show Nevada's per capita disposable income in 2003 at $26,636, which is $338 below the national average. The information came from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Nevada's statewide average wages increased in 2002, the most recent year available, according to the report. The average annual wage in 2002 was $33,015, up from $32,206 in 2001 for a 2.5 percent gain.

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(c) 2004, Las Vegas Review-Journal. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.