Nevada unemployment steady at 3.5 percent

Monday, Aug. 28, 2000 | 11:27 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Unemployment in Nevada remained at 3.5 percent in July, the same as the previous month, but it was down from the 5.1 percent registered in July 1999.

The state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reported today there were an estimated 39,000 people without jobs last month, which is 1,100 lower than in June. The 3.5 percent was lower than both the national 4 percent rate and California's 5 percent rate.

Department Director Myla Florence said, "Metropolitan Nevada is experiencing extremely low unemployment coupled with high jobs creation. On the other hand, rural counties including Humboldt, Pershing, Lander, Eureka and White Pine continue to feel the economic toll of depressed gold prices."

In an unusual twist, she said the greater Reno area is creating new jobs at a faster percentage rate than greater Las Vegas. This is rare, she said, since there were no major casino openings in the Reno area.

The department reported total statewide employment at 1,027,300, up 4.3 percent from July 1999. Jobs in construction rose by 3.1 percent; manufacturing was up 4 percent; trade grew by 4.7 percent; the service industry, which includes hotels and gaming, increased by 4.8 percent and government employment was up 5 percent.

Florence said a number of new businesses are opening and there are projects on the drawing boards. There are about 5,000 new jobs with the opening of the Aladdin and the September opening of the Suncoast hotel-casino.

The Clark County School District is hiring about 1,300 new teachers, with about 1,000 of them coming from out of state.

Unemployment in the Las Vegas metropolitan statistical area (Clark and Nye counties and Mohave County in Arizona) was at 4.2 percent, down one-tenth of a percentage point from the previous month. It is also lower than the 5.2 percent in July 1999. There were an estimated 32,100 jobless last month.

The department said total employment in the Las Vegas area reached 743,700, up 4.5 percent from a year ago. Construction jobs rose by 3 percent; manufacturing was up 3.4 percent; transportation increased 4.8 percent; trade was up 4.6 percent; jobs in the service industries grew by 4.8 percent and government employment jumped 6 percent.

Unemployment in Washoe County dropped to 2.6 percent, compared to the previous month of 2.8 percent. There were an estimated 4,800 people out of work. The department said there were 197,300 jobs, up 5.2 percent from a year ago.

In the Carson City area, which includes Carson City, Douglas, Lyon and Storey counties, unemployment fell from 4.2 percent to 3.9 percent in July with an estimated 2,270 jobless. Total employment rose to 56,170, up 6.7 percent from a year ago.

The jobless rate in Elko and Eureka counties dropped from 4.4 percent in June to 3.8 percent in July with 860 people out of work. Total employment reached 21,620, up 5.5 percent from a year ago.