Construction unemployment jumps in Vegas

By Cy Ryan

Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008 | 3 p.m.

CARSON CITY – Unemployment in the Las Vegas construction industry rose to 7.4 percent in July as projects were delayed.

The state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, said development on the Strip has been hurt by the nationwide credit crisis.

There were an estimated 94,600 employed in construction in Clark County this July compared to 103,800 for the same month of a year ago.

The overall unemployment rate for Clark County jumped to 6.8 percent, the highest point since June 1994, when it also reached 6.8 percent.

Bill Anderson, chief economist for the department said a “lack of liquidity has led to an indefinite delay of the multi-billion dollar Echelon Place Development.”

“Hopes for an economic turnaround in 2009 had been pinned to the new construction jobs the project would create,” he said. That hope has been tempered by the delay of Echelon Place and other projects, he said.

“On the positive note, projects with financing in place prior to the crisis appear to be moving forward despite reports of a cash crunch,” he said. City Center, Fontaineblue and Cosmopolitan are still scheduled to open over the next year or two.

While unemployment in Clark County rose from 6.5 percent to 6.8 percent, there were other counties where the picture was worse. The jobless rate in Lyon and Nye counties both hit 8.4 percent and it registered 7.4 percent in Mineral County.

Washoe County had 14,283 unemployed or a 6.2 percent rate, up from 4.3 percent in the same month of 2007.

The state rate of 6.6 percent is the highest it has been since July 1993.