Nevada unemployment rate inches up

Tuesday, July 31, 2001 | 10:36 a.m.

SUN CAPITAL BUREAU

CARSON CITY -- Unemployment in Nevada inched up to 4.5 percent in June with an estimated 50,400 people out of work, the state reported today.

The rate was one-tenth of a percentage point higher than May and equaled the national rate. But it was below the 5.1 percent in neighboring California.

The state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, said there were 9,000 more people out of work in June than in May.

One of the biggest increases in unemployment was in the Las Vegas metropolitan statistical area, which includes Clark and Nye counties in Nevada and Mohave County in Arizona.

The department reported a 5 percent jobless rate in the Las Vegas area compared to 4.1 percent in the previous month. And there were an estimated 40,100 unemployed in the area in June, about 7,400 more than the previous month.

Total employment statewide reached 1,073,200 -- up 4.4 percent from a year ago. But Nevada's biggest industry, gaming hotels and recreation, posted lower figures this June when compared to a year ago.

The department said there were 246,200 people on the job in the casino-hotel sector, a 0.2 percent decline from June 2000.

A department spokeswoman said this was not a trend and employment in that group will bounce back. While there was an increase in casino-hotel jobs in Southern Nevada, Washoe County (Reno) reported a decline of 1.8 percent.

Statewide, the department said employment grew in every category except hotel-casinos and the mining business, which fell 0.4 percent.

There were an estimated 92,500 construction workers, up 2.5 percent from last year; manufacturing grew 4.7 percent to 46,600 employees; trade jumped 7.8 percent to 229,500 workers and the number of government employees rose to 124,300, up 6.1 percent from June 2000.

In the Las Vegas area, total employment reached 787,600, up 5 percent from June of last year. The department said there were 72,800 construction workers, up 2.7 percent'; manufacturing jobs grew 4.1 percent to 25,300; trade was up 8.4 percent to 172,300 employees. Hotel, gaming and recreation reported employment at 196,000, up 0.8 percent and government workers grew to 80,400, up 8.5 percent.

Unemployment in Washoe County grew from 3.4 percent in May to 3.9 percent in June with an estimated 7,300 people out of work. The department said total employment rose to 200,700, up 3.2 percent from a year ago.

The Carson City labor market area that includes Carson City, Douglas, Lyon and Storey counties, posted a 4.9 percent unemployment rate, up from the 4.5 percent in May. There were an estimated 2,860 workers out of a job. Total employment increased 1.4 percent to 55,030 compared to a year ago.

The jobless rate in Elko and Eureka counties rose from 5.2 percent in May to 5.8 percent in June with an estimated 1,220 people looking for jobs. Employment dropped to 19,740, down 4.3 percent from a year ago.