Nevada businesses struggle to find workers with jobless rate at 3.4 percent

Friday, June 23, 2000 | 10:55 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Unemployment in Nevada in May dipped to 3.4 percent, its lowest point since at least 1994. State officials expect the strong job market to continue this summer.

The state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reported Thursday that Nevada's jobless rate is lower than both the national 4.1 percent rate and California's 5 percent rate.

There were an estimated 32,000 people out of work in May, down from 36,500 workers in April, the department said.

Total employment again topped the 1 million mark. The department said there were 1,023,400 workers on the job in Nevada, up 4.2 percent from a year ago in the same month.

The department said the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1994 changed the way unemployment rates were computed. The agency said there is no appropriate comparison with rates before that.

In talking about the future, Director Myla Florence said, "In terms of the numbers of people working, the summer tourism season should be one of the greatest that Nevada has experienced."

She said many employers may have trouble finding workers because of the healthy economy and the low unemployment rate.

Rural Nevada, she said is still struggling due to low gold prices, mining industry layoffs and closures. For instance, he said the 75 workers at the Rosebud mine in White Pine County will be laid off when the business closes in August.

Unemployment in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Clark and Nye counties in Nevada and Mohave County in Arizona, was 3.4 percent in May with 25,800 people out of work. That's compared to 3.8 percent unemployment in April with 28,600 jobless.

Employment in the Las Vegas area rose to 744,400, up 4.5 percent from a year ago.

Florence said new and expanding businesses statewide should continue to fuel the job growth and low unemployment.

Statewide, the department said construction employment rose to 91,600 workers, up 3.4 percent from a year ago; manufacturing employment grew 2.1 percent to 43,100; jobs in the service industries, which include hotels, gaming and recreation, rose 4.5 percent to 442,800; trade jumped 4.8 percent to 209,500 jobs and government employment grew by 5.8 percent to 126,800.

In the Las Vegas area, the department said construction employment accounted for 71,800 jobs, up 2.9 percent from May 1999; the service industries posted a 4.2 percent gain to 335,000 employed; manufacturing was up 2.6 percent to 23,900 employed; trade rose 4.7 percent to 154,900 jobs and government grew by 8.9 percent to 83,000 employed.

The department said unemployment in Washoe County fell from 2.8 percent in April to 2.4 percent in May with 4,300 jobless. The Carson City area, which includes Carson City, Douglas, Lyon and Storey counties, posted a 3.7 percent unemployment rate compared to 4.4 percent in April. And Elko and Eureka counties registered a 3.8 percent jobless rate, down from 4.5 percent in April.