State jobless rate rises in February

Friday, March 26, 1999 | 9:42 a.m.

The 3.5 percent rate is two-tenths of a percentage point higher than January and four-tenths of a point higher than the 3.1 percent rate in December. That was the state's lowest unemployment rate since 1957.

Nevada's unemployment rate is still far lower than the 4.4 percent national rate and the 5.6 percent rate in California.

Carol Jackson, director of the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, said Thursday an economic boost is likely in coming months.

The February figures don't take into consideration the hiring of workers at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas earlier this month. Next month The Venetian also will open on the Strip.

As a result, Jackson expects a tight labor market and continued economic stability in coming months. She said Nevada leads the nation in job growth, with a 5.3 percent increase in jobs over the last year. In February, 942,200 people were working in Nevada, up 47,800 from a year earlier.

The metropolitan Las Vegas unemployment rate in February was 3.3 percent, lower than the 3.6 percent rate in January and a 4.5 percent rate in February 1998.

In the Reno area, the February jobless rate was 4.1 percent, up from 3.9 percent in January, but lower than the 5.1 percent rate in February 1998.

Carson City had a February unemployment rate of 5.7 percent, while the Elko area's rate was 5.4 percent.

In the last year, service industries in Nevada have added 20,500 jobs, including 10,300 additional gaming and hotel positions. In all, 223,200 people work in the gaming and hotel industry out of a total state work force of 942,200.