Go West — to Alaska, Nevada or Wyoming — for job growth

LAS VEGAS — For 10 years, Bryan Davis has trudged through dusty construction sites and prepared new Las Vegas homes for insulation. Before residents even move in, he's off to work in another neighborhood. He is never unemployed.

Life is good for construction workers in Nevada, the fastest-growing state in the country, where homes are cranked out in assembly-line fashion. In the past three years, construction jobs here have increased by 16,000, or almost 19 percent, according to estimates of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But Nevada is a bright spot in a national economy that has lost 2 million jobs since President Bush took office in January 2001.

The West has fared slightly better than the rest of the country, led by job growth in Alaska, Nevada and Wyoming. From January 2001 to January 2004, the West's job loss was less than half the national rate, and the West accounted for the top five states in job growth.

"It's some testament to the West that in general the states have done a little bit better," said Richard Wobbekind, an economist at the University of Colorado-Boulder. "It shows they have a little bit more balance than they did in the past."

February saw a slight upturn in jobs in the West that exceeded the national improvement from the month before, but the pattern was typical for that time of year. The 13 Western states added 161,500 jobs, a 0.6 percent increase, topping the country's 0.4 percent growth. All but one Western state had increases — Wyoming lost an estimated 300 jobs. Alaska had the most robust February growth rate at 1.4 percent, or 4,100 jobs.

Colorado had the most dismal job report — down 97,300 jobs or 4.4 percent the last three years. The recession and dot-com fallout hit that state hard — a 26.7 percent loss in information jobs. Colorado, Oregon, Utah and Washington each lost jobs in six of nine categories, mostly because of layoffs in construction, information and manufacturing. California and Idaho had losses in five categories.

Jobs in manufacturing, information, natural resources, mining, trade, transportation and utilities are hard to come by in the West. Colorado, Oregon, Washington and California are the worst places to look for a job.

Utah had a meager job growth of 0.1 percent, but that's little consolation to electrician Boyce Christensen of American Fork. He's been out of work since November and has only worked 12 months in the past two years.