Jobless rate jumps to 13.1 percent in December

By Cy Ryan

Published Friday, Jan. 22, 2010 | 6:52 a.m.

Updated Friday, Jan. 22, 2010 | 7:06 a.m.

CARSON CITY – Unemployment rose in the Las Vegas area in December to 13.1 percent, the 12th straight month of double digit joblessness in Southern Nevada.

There were 128,200 people who were unemployed, up 9,400 from November. The jobless rate had fallen two straight months in the Las Vegas area, until last month.

Bill Anderson, chief economist for the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, said the figures cast “further doubt on the likelihood for a near-term economic recovery in Nevada.”

“The much anticipated opening of CityCenter in Las Vegas failed to be the immediate catalyst the leisure and hospitality industry needed to stop the evaporation of jobs,” Anderson said.

The department said the unemployment rate statewide rose to 13 percent in December after two months of a decline. It registered 12.3 percent in November. There were an estimated 176,000 people who were jobless last month.

Nevada’s rate compares to the national rate of 10 percent.

Anderson said “December marked the end of a historically bad year for Nevada’s economy” with employers shedding an additional 12,500 jobs in December.

In the Las Vegas area, total employment for the month registered 853,700.

Compared to December 2008, construction employment in Southern Nevada fell from 86,600 to 63,000 last month. The number of those employed in hotels and casinos dropped from 170,300 to 146,200 in a year-to-year comparison.

Manufacturing employment last month reported 22,900 jobs compared to 25,600 in December 2008. And utilities, transportation and trade had 154,500 workers last month compared to 166,600 in December 2008 in Southern Nevada.

The department said the unemployment rate in Washoe County leaped from 11.3 percent in November to 12.7 percent in December. Carson City’s rate rose from 11.2 percent in November to 12.7 percent in December.

Anderson said the current employment recession has now surpassed all recessions in the modern era in terms of depth and length. The previous worst was in the early 1980s, which lasted 18 months and the job loss was 4.5 percent year-over-year. The current downturn, he said, is now two years old and employment has fallen by greater than 6 percent.

“Despite the length and depth of the downturn, Nevada’s job market will likely worsen in the months ahead,” said Anderson, who is to present his forecast today to the Economic Forum that meets to predict future tax revenues of the state.

He said for the second year in a row, holiday hiring came in below the long-term average. Typically, the retail industry temporarily hires about 6,000 between October and December for the Christmas shopping season. This year, he said the industry added just 3,000 workers statewide.