Nevada’s unemployment rate fell to 9.7 percent in January, the 18th straight month of declines. With December’s 9.8 percent and January at 9.7 percent, the Silver State no longer has the nation’s highest unemployment percentage — a dubious distinction Nevada has had since February 2010. That honor now falls to Rhode Island. “Some of the industries which were hardest hit by the recession, like construction and manufacturing, appear to have stabilized and are on the path to improvement,” Gov. Brian Sandoval said. The jobless rate translates to 132,600 people looking for work in Nevada. But, while all markets in the …