Alphaville's Matthew Klein points to some depressing data from Nevada that show the state has a long way to go to heal from the aftermath of the housing bubble: "Adjusting for changes in population, Nevada's real output is a staggering 21 per cent below its 2006 peak, and more than 10 per cent below its level from two decades ago — a performance only comparable to Greece."

Nevada's unemployment rate has fallen from close to 14% in 2010 to just above 5% today, but much of that has been the result of workers leaving the labor force altogether.

Nevada's younger-than-average population long allowed it to have a higher share of its population employed than the rest of the U.S. But the recession set Nevada's young workforce back on its heels, and its recovery over the past decade has been depressingly weak.