Fewer Nevadans sought unemployment benefits in February

By Cy Ryan

Friday, March 16, 2012 | 4:07 p.m.

CARSON CITY - In another sign the Nevada economy is slowly improving, new unemployment claims fell in February compared to the same month in 2011.

The Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reported that 17,336 people applied for new jobless benefits in February compared to 17,980 in the same month last year.

Bill Anderson, chief economist for the department, said, "New unemployment claims are a leading indicator for the overall level of employment in the economy and show that the number of people entering unemployment is falling, which points to an ongoing stabilization in Nevada's labor market."

But the state still has a long way to full recovery. A healthy labor market would have only 10,000 to 12,000 new workers seeking jobless benefits each month, officials said.

The drop in new jobless claims in February was 4 percent and is the lowest decline in the past 27 months. While the jobless rate is declining it is still higher than the national average.

The department reported this month that the statewide jobless rate in January was 12.7 percent, 4.4 points higher than the national rate of 8.3 percent.