By Northern Nevada Business Weekly

The amount that Nevada workers earned per week showed signs of improvement in 2011, another indication that the state’s economy is in on the mend, said Bill Anderson, chief economist for Nevada’s Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

Wages in Nevada averaged $829 per week in 2011, which represents a gain of 1.3 percent compared to 2010’s $818 average weekly wage. Gains in each of the first three quarters of the year were only partially offset by some sluggishness in the final months of the year.

Average weekly wages declined in both 2009 and 2010 before reversing course last year.

Anderson noted that the rising in wages comes at a time that unemployment is trending down in the state, job growth is slightly positive and initial claims for unemployment insurance are down.

Still, Anderson noted that the 1.3 percent gain in wages last year wasn’t enough to keep pace a 3.2 percent increase in consumer prices last year.