Nevada jobless rate up in April

Tuesday, May 25, 1999 | 11:03 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Nevada's unemployment rate rose to 4.1 percent in April with an estimated 38,400 people out of work, up nearly 5,000 from March.

The state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reported today the rate was three-tenths of a percentage point higher than in March but is still lower than the national average of 4.3 percent.

Despite the increase in the jobless numbers, Department Director Carol Jackson said "April's economic reports demonstrated Nevada's enduring health."

She said creation of new jobs remains steady. Total employment reached 902,700, up 40,200 jobs from April of a year ago.

Jackson said a number of projects are set to open later that should add to the job force.

The department said unemployment in the Las Vegas metropolitan statistical area jumped from 3.4 percent in March to 3.9 percent in April with 28,500 people out of work.

Total employment in the area, which includes Clark and Nye counties in Nevada and Mohave County in Arizona, rose to 693,800, a 5.9 percent gain over the same month of a year ago.

Washoe County's rate inched up from 3.6 percent in March to 3.8 percent in April with an estimated 6,600 unemployed. The jobless rate in Carson City was 5.4 percent in April, up two-tenths of a percentage point from March. Unemployment in Elko and Eureka counties increased from 5.1 percent in March to 5.3 percent in April.

In the statewide breakdown of employment, the number of construction workers increased 3.9 percent to 85,700 compared to April 1998; manufacturing was up 2.2 percent to 42,300; service industries, which include gaming and hotels, rose 4.9 percent to 406,000; trade was up 4.7 percent to 194,500 and government employment jumped 5.7 percent to 119,000.

The only category down statewide was mining, where employment fell by 2.3 percent to 13,000 as gold prices continued their decline.

The department said service industry employment in the Las Vegas area rose by 6.4 percent mostly because of the opening of mega-resorts on the Strip. There were 307,300 persons working in this sector of the economy, an increase of 18,600 from a year ago.

The number of construction workers in the Las Vegas area increased by 3 percent to 68,600; trade rose by 4.8 percent to 142,300; manufacturing was up 2.7 percent to 23,100 employees and government increased by 7.9 percent to 76,800 workers compared to April 1998.