State unemployment rate drops

Thursday, Sept. 19, 2002 | 9:24 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Nevada's unemployment fell to its lowest level of the year in August, but at the same time the number of those on welfare reached its peak during the month.

Reports from two state agencies Wednesday gave conflicting signals on the recovery of the state's economy.

The state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation said the jobless rate sank to 5.1 percent with an estimated 52,800 people out of work.

The previous low mark was 5.4 percent in July. But gaming employment was still soft, recording declines both statewide and in Las Vegas.

"Although we shouldn't get too excited about the month-to-month fluctuations in economic data, the downward trend in Nevada's unemployment rate throughout 2002 is clearly a positive sign," Gov. Kenny Guinn said.

On the other side of the ledger, the state Welfare Division reported the number of people receiving public assistance in August jumped to 35,011, a 3.7 percent gain from the July.

The welfare caseload is 64 percent higher than a year ago. Welfare Administrator Nancy Ford said it is too early to predict when the growth in cases may begin to level out.

The number of welfare recipients had decreased for two straight months but then shot up in August. Tami Dufresne, coordinator of research and statistics for the Welfare Division, said one reason the numbers increased is that there were five weeks in August.

She said she expected the numbers to decline in September and October because the governor has ended the program allowing families to draw both unemployment and welfare.

Ford said declining economic conditions heightened by the tragic events of Sept. 11, combined with Nevada's status as the fastest growing state in the nation, have caused the number of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, food stamps and Medicaid eligibles to increase over the last year.

Guinn expressed confidence the state will continue to recover. There is renewed investment by the casinos and the retail industry is expanding to support the state's population growth, he said.

The employment agency said the Las Vegas metropolitan statistical area that includes Clark and Nye counties and Mojave County in Arizona posted a 5.3 percent jobless rate, down five-tenths of one percent compared to the previous month.

It said there were 43,700 people out of work, about 4,600 less than in July. The 5.3 percent jobless rate in August in the Las Vegas market equaled the previous low for the year set in May. At the beginning of the year in January, the rate was 6.1 percent.

The department reported statewide industrial employment reached 1,073,700, a gain of 1.3 percent from a year ago. Employment rose in construction by 2.3 percent to 96,000; manufacturing was off 0.4 percent to 45,400; trade gained 2.4 percent to 228,200 workers; employment in hotels and gaming dropped 2.4 percent to 241,000; and government employment rose 2.6 percent to 122,400 employees.

Total industrial employment in the Las Vegas market reached 794,300, up 1.6 percent from a year ago. Construction employment rose to 75,600 workers, up 1.7 percent; manufacturing increased 1.2 percent to 26,000 workers; trade grew by 2.8 percent to 172,300 employees; hotels and gaming declined 2.5 percent to 189,600 workers and government employees grew to 80,700, up 3.3 percent.

There is no breakdown available on where the welfare families reside.