Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Nevada jobless rate falls to 11.8 percent in September

CARSON CITY — Nevada’s unemployment rate fell to 11.8 percent in September while the rate in Las Vegas dropped to 11.5 percent from the previous month, the lowest it has been in at least two years.

Gov. Brian Sandoval said he was encouraged by the numbers, noting that export activity is up one-third over last year and that Nevada is taking a more prominent place in the world’s economy.

But the state’s unemployment rate is still behind the national average of 7.8 percent as Nevada recorded its 21st consecutive month of double-digit unemployment.

Bill Anderson, chief economist for the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, which released the numbers, said the figures show the state moving in a positive direction.

Through the first three quarters of the year, private businesses statewide have added 12,000 more jobs compared to the same nine months in 2011, Anderson said.

Elsewhere in the state, the unemployment rate in Washoe County fell from 11.5 percent to 10.8 percent, and Carson City’s unemployment rate dipped to 10.9 percent compared to 11.6 percent in August.

First-time claims for unemployment dropped to 13,932, the lowest level since before the recession started in 2007.

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