State job total tops 1 mil. as economy booms

Friday, Jan. 28, 2000 | 10:59 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The number of jobs in Nevada topped the 1 million mark with the economy continuing strong during the holiday shopping season in December.

The state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reported today the number of jobs rose by 48,400 from a year ago, an increase of 5.1 percent. At the same time the department said the unemployment rate fell to 4 percent, down half a percentage point.

Department Director Carol Jackson said, "Nevada continues to enjoy a healthy economy coupled with robust job growth. In December the state reached an employment first when our preliminary data counts showed a million jobs in the Silver State."

New and expanding businesses are creating jobs at a strong rate in Clark County. But Jackson said rural counties are still suffering from a downturn in mining because of low gold prices.

The statewide unemployment rate was one-tenth of a point lower than the national 4.1 percent rate and nine-tenths below California.

The department said the jobless rate in the Las Vegas metropolitan statistical area, which includes Clark and Nye counties and Mohave County in Arizona, fell five-tenths of a point to 3.6 percent. There were an estimated 27,100 people out of work in the area, down about 3,300 from the previous month of November.

Total jobs in the Las Vegas area reached 728,200, up 6.3 percent or 43,200 from a year ago.

In the breakdown of employment statewide, only the mining industry showed a decrease. It reported 11,700 jobs, down 10.7 percent from a year ago. The department said the construction industry grew by 4.2 percent to 90,300 jobs; manufacturing was up 3.3 percent to 43,700 employed; employment in hotels, gaming and recreation rose 5.3 percent to 423,100 jobs; trade jumped 6.7 percent to 211,000 and government employment was up 5.3 percent to 122,700 jobs.

In the Las Vegas area, employment in the hotels, gaming and recreation sector jumped 7.5 percent compared to a year ago with 187,100 jobs; construction was up 5.2 percent to 72,800 employed; manufacturing grew by 4.8 percent for 23,800 jobs; trade employment increased by 7 percent to 154,300 and the number of government jobs rose by 7.3 percent to 80,500.